Todd Bishop
This year is the Olympic year, and the much-anticipated Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, Japan. However, the epidemic of new coronavirus pneumonia continues to spread to the Asia-Pacific region, and Japan has unfortunately become the country with the most severe epidemic outside China. With less than half a year to go before the opening of the Olympic Games, the epidemic still seems to be at its peak. Will the “four-year dream” of the world’s top athletes helplessly die?
Officials insist on holding “B-less plan” as scheduled
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, as of February 14, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Wakayama, and Okinawa have successively “lost”. In addition, many people have been infected by the “Diamond Princess” cruise ship in the “heavy-hit area” at Yokohama’s Daikoku Pier. The number of confirmed cases has increased to 259.
On the same day, John Coates, chairman of the IOC Coordinating Committee, and Mori Mori, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee, held a press conference to explain the latest Olympic situation. The reporter’s questions were all related to the epidemic, for example, about Chinese athletes going to Japan to participate in the test match, Chinese fans, and whether the Olympics will be held as scheduled.
Coates and Yoshiro Mori have repeatedly emphasized that there is currently no “Plan B” for the Tokyo Olympics and preparations are proceeding as usual. When asked whether he was 100% sure that the Olympics would begin on July 24, Coates simply answered “yes”.
