International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach paid a courtesy call in Tokyo on Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the first time after arriving in the Japanese capital ahead of the Games, starting July 23. The meeting came on the day when Tokyo reported its highest number of Covid-19 cases in almost six months.
As the capital city is battling with rising infections, both IOC president Bach and Prime Minister Suiga assured that the Olympics will be “safe and secure”. Notably, the Japanese government imposed a Covid-19 state of emergency which will extend beyond the duration of the Games in Tokyo.
TOKYO 2020: FULL COVERAGE
Tokyo reported 1,149 new cases on Wednesday. This was the highest since 1,184 were reported almost six months ago on Jan. 22. It also marked the 25th straight day that cases were higher than they were a week earlier.
Absolutely necessary all participants take appropriate actions: PM
Suga asked Bach to ensure that the Olympics will be safe, particularly for the Japanese public, of which fewer than 20 per cent are fully vaccinated.
“To gain the understanding of our people, and also for the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games, it is absolutely necessary that all participants take appropriate actions and measures including countermeasures against the pandemic,” Suga told Bach.
“As the host of the games, I do hope that the IOC will make the efforts so that all athletes and stakeholders will fully comply with these measures.”
We do not bring any risks to Japanese people: IOC boss
Bach replied: “We’d like to reaffirm all our commitment on the side of the Olympic community to do everything, that we do not bring any risks to the Japanese people.”
Bach told Suga that 85 per cent of the athletes and officials living in the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay will be fully vaccinated. He said almost 100 per cent of IOC members and IOC staff were “vaccinated or immune.”
The IOC also says between 70-80 per cent of international medical representatives were vaccinated.
The IOC and Tokyo organisers last week banned fans from all venues in Tokyo and three neighbouring prefectures. A few outlying venues will allow some spectators, and fans from abroad were banned month ago.
About 11,000 athletes and tens of thousands of others will enter Japan for the Olympics. The Paralympics will add about 4,400 more athletes.
Japan has attributed about 15,000 deaths to COVID-19, a number low by many standards but not as good as most of its Asian neighbors.
Bach arrived in Tokyo last week and spent the first three days self-isolating in the five-star hotel that the IOC uses for its headquarters in Tokyo.
The IOC is pushing ahead with the Olympics, despite opposition in much of the Japanese medical community, partly because it is dependent for almost 75 per cent of its income on the sale of broadcasting rights. (With AP Inputs).