Tokyo Olympics: Japan PM Suga says THIS after official hints at cancellation due to COVID-19

Tokyo Olympic Games is once again in doubt due to rising COVID-19 cases. (Photo: Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday (April 15) that the government would do ‘everything possible’ to prevent the spread of coronavirus ahead of the Olympics, after a ruling party official said cancelling the event remained an option.

“There’s no change to the government’s stance, to do everything possible to prevent the spread of infections as we head towards the Olympics,” Suga said, sidestepping a reporter’s question as to whether cancellation was possible, as party heavyweight Toshihiro Nikai had said earlier.

Suga was speaking to reporters at the Prime Minister’s official residence ahead of his trip to the United States for a meeting with President Joe Biden.

Earlier, senior Japanese ruling party official said that cancelling this year’s Olympics in Tokyo remains an option if the COVID-19 crisis becomes too dire. The Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee responded with a statement saying all those involved in preparing for the Games remained fully focused on hosting them in the summer.

“If it seems impossible (to host the Olympics) any more, then we have to stop it, decisively,” Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said in comments to broadcaster TBS.

Cancellation is ‘of course’ an option, he said, adding: “If the Olympics were to spread infection, then what are the Olympics for?”

With Japan in the midst of a fourth wave of coronavirus infections, doubts over whether Tokyo would be able to host the Summer Games – already an unpopular idea with the public – have resurfaced in recent weeks.

Government and organising officials have consistently said the Games would go ahead. “We do not speculate,” an International Olympic Committee spokesperson said on Thursday. “We are fully concentrated and committed to the successful delivery of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 this year, and working at full speed towards the opening ceremony on July 23.”

‘Olympics Cancelled’ was trending on Twitter in Japan with nearly 50,000 tweets from users as of Thursday afternoon. “If this person says it, Olympics cancellation looks like a reality,” tweeted @marumaru_clm in reference to Nikai, who is a key backer of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and is known for his frank comments.

Japan is grappling with rising COVID-19 infections, with new cases in Tokyo jumping to 729 on Thursday, the most since early February. Tokyo, Osaka and several other prefectures entered a quasi-state of emergency this month, asking bars and restaurants to shorten their hours, and four more prefectures were set to be added, local media reported.