(Reuters) – Japan’s Osaka decree governor has called for the Olympic torch relay in his largest city to be canceled amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases, giving organizers an early test as they plan for the Games during the pandemic.
Governor Osaka Hirofumi Yoshimura said yesterday that the torch relay in the city should be canceled and he wants to have discussions with Tokyo’s organizing committee on the matter.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters he believed the decision had already been made.
“I understand that Osaka was canceled as a result of talks between the Tokyo Olympic organizers and the Osaka torch relay committee,” Suga told reporters.
But Tokyo’s organizing committee denied there had been such a decision.
“We will continue to have close discussions with the Osaka prefectural authorities regarding the operation of the Olympic Torch Relay, and will endeavor to announce the result as soon as possible,” Tokyo organizers said in an email comment.
The relay started last week in Fukushima and is considered the first major test of the Games when hosting a large-scale event in the implementation of strict health protocols.
About 10,000 runners will carry the torch through the country’s 47 assumptions over 121 days.
Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics require spectators at the roadside to wear masks, practice social isolation and not shout loudly to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, and there have been no reports yet of infections arising from the relay.
EMERGENCY MEASURES
Osaka, however, is battling a resurgence in infections. Yesterday the Japanese government said it would enforce emergency measures like shorter business hours and ask people to work from home in the western Japan decree and two other areas to curb the rise in cases.
Those measures are expected to last for a month, until May 5, coinciding with the relay that is scheduled to go through Osaka on April 13-14.
“I think we need to have talks with the city of Osaka, but personally I think the torch relay in the city of Osaka should be canceled,” Governor Osaka Yoshimura told reporters.
Officials in Nagano, who were also worried about an increase in infections, decided to ban spectators from parts of the torch relay as it passed through their prefecture yesterday. Although Japan has been affected by the pandemic less severely than the United States and Europe, its vaccination campaign is off to a slow start while some prefectures see a rise in new infections.
Japan’s majority are opposed to hosting the Games this summer during the pandemic, polls have shown.
Olympic organizers last month decided to ban international viewers from the Games, and this month they are expected to determine the maximum capacity for spectators at venues.
The Olympics, which have been postponed by a year due to the pandemic, are expected to take place July 23 to August 8 and the Paralympics from August 24 to September 5.