By Ami Miyazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo has no plan B for this year’s Summer Olympics despite considerations over the spread of the coronavirus in Japan and less than five months before the event, a senior official said on Friday.
“There will be no replacement in the organization of the Games as planned,” Katsura Enyo, deputy director-general of the Tokyo 2020 Preparedness Office in the city government, told Reuters.
After years of preparation and an investment of about $12 billion, Japan wants to allay fears that the Games could be canceled, postponed or moved elsewhere because of the virus.
Although it is declining in China, where it originated, this flu-like illness is spreading around the world, with more than two hundred cases and five deaths in Japan.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach bolstered Tokyo’s stance on Thursday, saying his organization was “fully committed” to holding the Olympics on schedule.
In a phone interview, Enyo said organizers were “coping” with the coronavirus but that it would not derail the July 24-Aug. 24 celebration. 24 protest. 9 event. We don’t even think about when or when we’ll be able to get things done. I don’t have the concept of replacement in mind,” he said.
POSTPONEMENT?
Some Japanese media reported that organizers were postponing the Games by six months to a year, but Enyo denied the report. “No such debate is taking place,” he said, adding that preparations were underway.
Japan, however, is cutting the Olympic torch relay due to the risk of the coronavirus.
And despite its optimism about the Olympics, Japan has canceled many sporting events.
The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants will play two baseball preseason games in an empty stadium, while the Tokyo Marathon will be contested on Sunday with only elite runners.
The country has also recorded more than 700 coronavirus cases and four deaths on a quarantined cruise ship shipped off the coast of Yokohama.
Japan has built a raft of new facilities for the Games, including a 156.9 billion yen ($1.42 billion) National Stadium, and hoped for a huge boost in tourism, which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made a cornerstone of his economic plan.
But markets have begun to price in the threat of canceling the Olympics, and the percentage value of advertising firm Dentsu Group has taken a hit as investors worry about its maximum exposure.
The quadrennial sporting event was last canceled due to World War II, but doubts about Tokyo have grown since the creation committee’s chief executive, Toshiro Muto, said he was “seriously concerned” that the virus would throw “cold water” on its momentum.
However, a suggestion by a candidate for mayor of London that the British capital, which hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics, could host them again if necessary, has sparked strong reactions in Japan.
(Writing by Elaine Lies; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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