Japan stood firm on Friday on its commitment to host the Tokyo Olympics this year and denied a report of a possible cancellation.
But the pledge looks unlikely to ease public concern about holding the event during a pandemic.
Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency due to a third wave of COVID-19 infections, Tokyo Olympic organisers have vowed to press ahead with the re-scheduled Games, which are due to open on July 23 after being postponed for a year because of the coronavirus.
A government spokesman said there was “no truth” to a report in Britain’s Times newspaper that the government had privately concluded the Games would have to be cancelled. The Times, citing an unidentified senior member of the ruling coalition, said the government’s focus was now on securing the Games for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032.
“We will clearly deny the report,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai told a news conference.
Later, Japan Olympic Committee Head, Yasuhiro Yamashita told Reuters the report was false and “a fabrication”.
The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, said there had been no talk of cancelling or delaying the Olympics and a protest should be lodged over the Times report.
The Games organizing committee also denied the report, saying in a statement its partners, including the government and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), were “fully focused” on hosting the games as scheduled.
“The Tokyo Games are on. The flame will be lit on July 23, 2021.”
(Reuters)
