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International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates landed in Japan on Tuesday (June 15) to oversee Tokyo Olympics preparations ahead of next month's event. The Australian executive is set to spend three days in quarantine and will also be subject to a few restrictions on his movement following the isolation period.
The Tokyo Olympics was originally scheduled for 2020 but had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Olympics will now start on July 23. The organizers will also release the final version of the ‘Playbook’ containing countermeasures for the athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, later today.
The Tokyo Olympics organizers have already announced there will be daily testing of the athletes along with GPS tracking of overseas journalists during the event. On his arrival, Coates was greeted by dozens of protesters, but opposition from sections of the Japanese population is unlikely to have an impact on the Tokyo Olympics schedule.
The Australian women’s softball team has already set up base in the Asian country having arrived last month. The Argentina men’s hockey team is also expected to arrive in Japan later this month. A recent poll revealed that the majority of the citizens are in support of going ahead with the Tokyo Olympics.
Several Japanese cities, including Tokyo, are already in a state of emergency that is set to be lifted on June 20. The Tokyo Olympics organizers have also assured a final decision on the attendance of local crowds will be taken by the end of this month. Overseas spectators have already been banned from this edition of the games.
Japanese volunteers, school children withdraw from Tokyo Olympics
Around 10,000 volunteers quit the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics earlier this month due to the risk of contracting COVID-19. Several schools have also opted out of the Tokyo Olympics spectator programme due to high infection risks during the two-week event.
Compared to other countries, Japan has seen a relatively smaller outbreak with just over 14,000 COVID-19 deaths. However, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s governance came under scanner from several sections of the society. The Japanese government and IOC have held firm on their stance and are clear the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead as planned.
