FILE PHOTO: A man wears a protective mask amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in front of the giant Olympic rings in Tokyo, Japan, January 13, 2021. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo
Tokyo - The Japanese government today denied the possibility of cancelling the Tokyo Olympics next summer in light of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
"We have decided the venues and schedule (for the games), and the people involved are working on preparations including infection control," the top government spokesman Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said on a television program, according to KYODO NEWS.
Kato's assurances came after some news report quoted Japan's administrative and regulatory reform minister, Taro Kono, as saying the fate of the games "could go either way. "Anything is possible, but as the host of the games we need to do whatever we can, so that when it's a go, we can have a good Olympic Games," Kono said, according to the KYODO NEWS.
The Japanese government, the local organizing committee and the International Olympic Committee have confirmed that the Olympics will be held as scheduled, amidst strict health measures and safety standards.
However, doubts remain with the declaration of a state of emergency in the vicinity of the capital, Tokyo, amid increasing cases of Coronavirus.
A recent survey showed that 80% of Japanese agreed that the Olympics should be canceled or postponed again.
