Tokyo Olympics ‘are CANCELLED’: Japanese government ‘has privately concluded the Games cannot go ahead this summer’ after they were postponed from last year
The Japanese government has decided the Tokyo Olympics cannot go ahead this summer after they were postponed from last year, according to a report.
Senior cabinet members have privately agreed the Games are doomed because of the coronavirus pandemic and are now looking to recoup the competition at the next available slot – 2032.
‘No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,’ a government source told The Times. ‘Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.’
The Japanese government has reportedly decided the Tokyo Olympics cannot go ahead this summer
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese government have been saying that the event would go ahead, from July 23 to August 8, after last year’s event was postponed due to Covid-19.
‘We will have full anti-infection measures in place and proceed with preparation and with a determination to achieve the Games that can deliver hope and courage throughout the world,’ Yoshihide Suga, the prime minister said this week.
But with another postponement not an option and the worldwide winter wave of coronavirus cases forcing a state of emergency on Japan’s largest cities, the report claims this has tipped the odds back in favour of cancelling the Games.
The report also adds that opinion polls demonstrate 80 per cent of the Japanese population are against the Olympics taking place in the summer.
The cancellation of the Olympics would have a devastating financial impact on Japan, with the country having reportedly spent more than £18billion ($25bn) on preparing for the Games.
It would also be the first time they have been cancelled in peacetime, with the Olympics being called off in 1916, 1940 and 1944 because of World War I and World War II.
However, the report adds that Japan’s focus will now turn to securing Tokyo as host city for the 2032 Games, with a decision on which city will stage the Olympics in 11 years’ time expected by 2025.
Paris is due to host the 2024 Games while Los Angeles is the designated venue for 2028, but the Japanese are set to face a battle in trying to save face after last year’s Games were also cancelled due to the pandemic.
The news comes after the prospect of the Tokyo Games taking place behind closed doors increased after a senior Olympic chief said spectators were ‘not a must-have’.
Sportsmail understands organisers are considering making the Olympics a TV-only event, with a decision set to be made in March.
The claims also come after Sir Keith Mills, deputy chair of the London 2012 organising committee, said Tokyo 2020 organisers should be ‘making plans for a cancellation’.