The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is still on track, the organizers announced as Japanese government urged cancellations of major events amid COVID-19 epidemic.
“We have not thought about it. We have not heard about it. We have made inquiries, and we were told there is no such plan,” Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto said in a briefing.
“Our basic thinking is to conduct the Olympics and Paralympics as planned. That’s our assumption,” he added.
Muto added that the organizers would review events individually in response to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s call to cancel, postpone or reduce the major events that attracts large crowds.
“We are absolutely not considering cancelling it. But we will think about how we can hold it in ways that won’t lead to the spread of the virus, including reducing its scale,” he added.
Muto also countered Dick Pound’s statement that the fate of Summer Games will be decided within three months.
“When we consulted with IOC… we were told it was not IOC’s thinking.”
The Olympics are slated to commence on July 24, while Paralympics is scheduled at August 25.
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