In Tokyo, a growing sense of angst over possible virus-hit Olympics

A man walks in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building on Feb. 25.

Mar 11, 2020

For weeks, Olympic organizers have relentlessly pushed a consistent message: The Summer Games in Tokyo will not be canceled or postponed.

On Wednesday, Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto called postponement “inconceivable,” pushing back on a Wall Street Journal report in which Haruyuki Takahashi, a member of the executive board for the Japanese organizing committee, suggested that the games could be delayed by one or two years if unable to be held as scheduled due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“With the star athletes in the middle of preparations for this event which happens only once every four years, a cancellation or delay to the Tokyo games is inconceivable,” Hashimoto said in a parliamentary committee. “A delay is not under consideration.”

But behind the scenes, sponsors who have pumped billions of dollars into the games have grown increasingly nervous about how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the event.

When organizers and sponsors met privately to discuss preparations last Wednesday, the companies learned there had been no decision on whether — or when — there would be any changes to the games.

“A lot of people are starting to worry, but there’s nothing much we can do,” a representative of an Olympic sponsor, who was present at the previously unreported meeting, said.

“If this continues into April, May, June, it will be an issue, but we’re still waiting to see what will happen,” added the representative, who was not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The meetings between the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and “partner companies,” including sponsors, take place regularly. There were dozens of people present at the one last week.

“Nothing has been decided. On the inside, it’s a mess,” said a person briefed on the meeting, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The final decision belongs to the powerful International Olympic Committee chief, Thomas Bach. Companies such as Coca-Cola Co., Bridgestone Corp, Canon Inc., Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Corp. sponsor the games, and Japanese brands have for decades been some of the most generous.

The IOC said on Wednesday that “the preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are continuing as planned.”

Tokyo 2020 organizing committee did not respond to a request for comment.

The meeting last week brought into focus the scale of what organizers are grappling with: pressure to avoid a coronavirus crisis among 600,000 expected overseas spectators and athletes at an event that could see $3 billion in sponsorships and at least $12 billion spent on preparations evaporate.

Takahashi, one of more than two dozen members of the board of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, said it has just started working on scenarios for how the virus could affect the games. But a sponsor representative present at the meeting last week said those plans are not being shared with the companies.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has staked his legacy as the longest-serving Japanese leader on staging a successful games and bringing a massive jolt, estimated at $2.3 billion, to the stagnant economy with tourism and consumer spending.

Some Olympic qualifiers and test events have been relocated or delayed. The games themselves don’t start until late July, leaving some time for the organizers to make the final call.

Neal Pilson, the former head of CBS Sports, who was involved in broadcasting rights negotiations for three Winter Olympics said he expected organizers to assess the situation by early May at the latest, when they “will have a better fix on whether the epidemic is tapering down or continuing to expand.”

Hashimoto said the end of May was a possible time frame for a decision.

Organizers have begun to modify their tone. At a news conference last week, Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori vehemently denied that the games would be canceled, but added that planners were “listening to various opinions” and responding “flexibly because the situation changes day by day.”

Last week, Hashimoto was questioned in parliament on the clause in the contract between the IOC and the organizers in Japan that determines when the Olympic committee could terminate the games.

One of the scenarios is the inability of the host city to hold the Olympics in 2020.

The mention of the clause touched off speculation that the minister was hinting at a delay, which sponsors at last week’s meeting were told sparked the ire of the IOC.

As a result, Hashimoto called senior members of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee to explain how she was “misunderstood.”

According to the contract, the Tokyo metropolitan government, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee and the Japanese Olympic Committee signed away any right to indemnity, damages or compensation from the IOC.

The contract says the IOC may scrap the games when safety is “seriously threatened,” among other reasons.

Those three bodies have formed a task force on the virus that consults closely with the World Health Organization, which last week warned against “false hopes” that the virus would disappear with warmer summer weather.

Many sports in Japan, such as rugby and sumo, have held recent matches without spectators.

Although keeping spectators away would cost estimated $800 million in lost ticket sales, it could still provide billions in revenue from broadcast and marketing rights.

But experts said it would still be difficult to organize safe games with thousands of athletes living in close proximity.

“In the Olympic village alone, you’re bringing together 17,000-18,000 people, they’re living in close quarters, interacting with each other, coming from all over the world,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economist at Smith College specializing in sports economics.

A Tokyo 2020 official involved in the discussions on Olympics and the virus said that delaying the games until later in the year would be difficult.

Takahashi, of the organizing committee, said a one- or two-year delay would better accommodate professional sports schedules, which are planned years in advance.

“We need to start preparing for any possibility. If the games can’t be held in the summer, a delay of one or two years would be most feasible,” Takahashi said.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2020/03/11/olympics/tokyo-2020-olympics-cancel-coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR31jS5x11pf1gNX3eE34vubB3CrtVIoaXDcTjzFK7VuFGIKutC7MCN-98o#.XmlCoEpCeUl

March 13, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Japan may have to cancel the Olympics

Covid-19 could scupper Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s pet project

March 7, 2020

IF BANYAN HAD to choose one country in which to ride out a pandemic, it would surely be Japan. Early 19th-century woodblock prints of bathing testify to Japan’s old and admirable cult of cleanliness. Modern Japanese have for years been quick to don a face mask at the first sniffle, out of consideration for others. And the population responds swiftly to public messaging.

Hygiene measures advocated against covid-19 since mid-January emphasise frequent washing of hands. This has surely helped slow the spread of the coronavirus, especially given that of Japan’s 1,035 covid-19 cases and 12 deaths, most are associated with a cruise ship held for weeks off Yokohoma. One striking and positive side-effect is already apparent: unlike in Europe or America, doctors report sharp falls in cases of ordinary flu, not only compared with previous years but also with the first part of the winter. Given that 3,300 deaths were attributed to flu in Japan in 2018, the good hygiene inculcated in recent months may well have saved far more lives than covid-19 has claimed.

For all that, social strains have shown in recent days. In Tokyo scuffles have broken out in queues for facemasks outside pharmacies. Panic-buying of toilet paper has left shelves bare. A photograph of toilet rolls in a public lavatory chained to their dispenser with a bicycle lock has done the rounds. While hardly “Lord of the Flies”, it is all highly unusual in such a well-behaved country.

Blame a squall of doubt over the government of the usually assertive prime minister, Abe Shinzo. His problems seem, precisely, to have begun with the cruise ship, the Diamond Princess. When cases of covid-19, contracted overseas, became clear among the 3,700 people aboard, measures to isolate them failed badly. The vessel was, as one passenger put it, a floating petri dish, as the number of infected soared to over 700, with seven deaths. Extraordinarily, crew were eventually let ashore from the infected vessel, and Japanese passengers allowed to return home on public transport, with no further quarantine measures.

When it comes to bumbling crisis management, Japan has form. After the Kobe earthquake in 1995, yakuza (gangsters) set up soup kitchens, so slow was government help to arrive. Bureaucratic disarray ruled in the Diamond Princess’s handling, too. European ambassadors with nationals aboard complained they did not know who in the government to call. Fans wondered whether Mr Abe, invisible during the crisis, had lost his touch. His hitherto unassailable poll ratings fell sharply.

To contain the damage to his reputation as well as the coronavirus, on February 27th Mr Abe took the initiative, telling all schools to close until April. Preparing for the worst, he rushed through legislation this week allowing a state of emergency to be declared. And he unveiled an emergency spending package.

The assertive Abe, then, is back. So much so that questions are growing about what expert advice, if any, he drew on for his schools decision. New social stresses will surely emerge, not least for working mothers (it never seems to be fathers) who must now drum up weeks of day-time childcare. “The government does not grasp what it’s like to raise children,” one mother complains.

The government claims that Japan will return to normal in April. That seems implausible. A state visit by China’s president, Xi Jinping, which was supposed to put the two countries’ listing relationship on an even keel, has already been postponed. There is little political cost to Mr Abe—after all, nationalists who backed his rise to power had been grumbling about his hosting the Chinese dictator.

Much more rides on the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Mr Abe intends them to foster the patriotism whose absence among ordinary Japanese he laments. He wants the games to make Japan seem open, global and even multicultural. And, though vastly over budget, they are to crown the prime minister’s seven-year rule.

To cancel the games would generate not only disappointment among ordinary Japanese but anger at the wasted expense they have already had to bear. But a pandemic would take the decision out of his hands—not least, says Nakano Koichi of Sophia University, because the Olympic village would be “a cruise ship on land”. Bet on a postponement of the games at the very least, and on a long delay before the prime minister’s popularity shines again.

https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/03/07/japan-may-have-to-cancel-the-olympics?cid1=cust/ednew/n/bl/n/2020/03/5n/owned/n/n/nwl/n/n/EU/420030/n

March 11, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | 1 Comment

Will coronavirus cancel the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?

March 6, 2020

Games on? Or Games over?

It would be one of the biggest sports news stories ever.

The postponement – or cancellation – of the world’s greatest sporting mega-event because of coronavirus would be unprecedented in peacetime.

The 2020 Olympics are due to take place in Tokyo from 24 July to 9 August – here are some of the key questions as the Olympic movement faces up to unchartered territory.

What is the latest in Japan?

There is inevitably mounting concern; Japan’s proximity to China where the outbreak began, the postponement of Tokyo 2020 volunteer training, the restrictions placed on last weekend’s Tokyo marathon where only elite runners were allowed to participate, the suspension of J-League matches and other sports events, and the country’s closure of schools.

The Asia Sevens rugby tournament, which was due to be a pre-Games test event held in Tokyo next month, was cancelled on Wednesday.

The news came just as International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach was facing the media in Lausanne, after a two-day executive board meeting.

Tokyo 2020 organisers had also agreed to scale back the torch relay in response to coronavirus, with the lighting of the flame due to take place in Greece next week.

Japan’s Olympics minister broke ranks on Tuesday, saying that Tokyo’s contract with the IOC allowed for the Games to be postponed until later this year.

What has the IOC said?

President Thomas Bach says the IOC remains ‘fully committed’ to Tokyo 2020

At the news conference on the banks of Lake Geneva, Bach fended off a barrage of questions about whether the Olympics could be delayed.

The admission 24 hours earlier from Japan’s Olympics minister perhaps forced Bach into a hastily arranged and unscheduled statement, in which he tried to make clear his confidence the event would proceed as planned, and urged athletes to prepare “full steam”.

At his news conference the following day, Bach struck an even more defiant tone.

He denied having a ‘Plan B’, refused to be drawn on when any decision could be made and remarkably insisted that the words “cancellation” and “postponement” were not even mentioned during the meeting.

The president did admit to a “challenge” when it came to the cancelling of some qualifying events, as has the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which has also said qualification criteria will be reviewed as a result.

In a letter to athletes on Thursday, Bach seemed to reveal a little more realism, admitting the coronavirus was “a major concern for all of us” and was “a major subject of discussion” at the executive board meeting.

When asked what exactly his confidence was based on, Bach referred to the guidance the IOC is receiving from the World Health Organisation, part of a dedicated task-force that is now in regular dialogue, without explaining what that advice actually was.

Why no ‘Plan B’?

Bach’s reassuring messaging will no doubt be welcomed by many in Japan, the Olympic movement, its stakeholders, and many athletes.

But some may wonder whether the president is in denial. Or merely delaying the inevitable. Others will ask if it is irresponsible or naive not to have a contingency plan.

The reality is the IOC almost certainly does have a ‘Plan B’. Insiders explain that it always does for unforeseen events at the Olympics, ranging from terrorism and war to natural disasters and boycotts.

As Bach – a man who never gives the impression of panicking – explained in Lausanne, he has been faced with challenges ahead of previous Games before – from the Zika virus and Russia’s state-sponsored doping scandal before Rio 2016, to the threat of nuclear war on the Korean peninsular in the build-up to Pyeongchang 2018.

So perhaps his calm exterior should not come as too great a surprise. The IOC operates in something of a bubble after all, and will not be pushed into an expression of alarm just because some in the outside world expects it.

Perhaps this is wise. This crisis comes with the IOC facing a challenge to persuade cities to bid to host Games at the best of times. Bach is hardly going to rush into cancelling or delaying Tokyo 2020 – and perhaps in doing so deter other cities from bidding in the future – until it becomes absolutely necessary.

Why no decision yet?

The 2020 Olympics are due to run from 24 July to 9 August

Firstly, because it may be premature. If the Games were being held now, it is hard to see how it could proceed as planned given the current approach of the Japanese authorities to mass gatherings and thousands of athletes in close proximity to each other in the village. But if, as many hope, the outbreak peaks, and then eases in the summer months, then it would be Games on.

And secondly, if the IOC were to publicly countenance a delay or cancellation, it would almost certainly have a detrimental effect, harming sales of tickets and hospitality packages, worrying athletes, and harming the all-important broadcast and sponsorship partners who ultimately bankroll the Olympic movement.

The only exception to this stance so far has come from long-serving IOC member Dick Pound, who last week admitted a decision to cancel could be made as late as May.

Ultimately, the situation is fluid and developing all the time, and just because Bach is confident now, it does not mean the situation will not change. So his words should be viewed with that in mind.

Who decides?

Under the heading ‘Termination’, clause 66 of the official Tokyo 2020 host city contract gives the IOC the authority to “withdraw the Games from the city” in the event of war (as happened in 1916, 1940 and 1944), civil disorder or boycott, or if the organisation believes that the safety of participants would be threatened “for any reason whatsoever”.

Significantly perhaps, the document states the IOC can also terminate if the Games do not take place in 2020. There is no reference to postponement.

The IOC then, is in control. But ultimately it will act on the advice of the experts at the World Health Organisation – and the Japanese government.

And with so much at stake, until they tell the IOC that to proceed would be irresponsible, expect the show of confidence to be maintained for as long as possible.

Could there be a short delay?

The distinct sense I picked up in Lausanne this week was that the kind of short-term three to four-month delay mooted by Japan’s Olympic Minister is highly unlikely. In fact, almost impossible.

It would certainly be very difficult trying to fit an autumn or winter Games into an already crowded sporting calendar, with so many other international events planned years in advance and potentially impacted.

Under a deal agreed four years ago, more than 5,000 apartments in the athletes’ village are due to be sold to private residents after the Paralympics, so it is unclear whether it would even be possible to accommodate 11,000 competitors and thousands more support staff at a later date in the event of a postponement. The availability of hotel rooms and volunteers would be uncertain.

The IOC’s most important live broadcast partner NBC – which has just announced it has sold a record £970m of advertising for Tokyo 2020 – may also take a dim view of the prospect of the Games clashing with the professional US basketball and NFL seasons, with the obvious negative knock-on effect that would have on audiences.

What are the other options?

• Stage the Games without fans and behind closed doors, as suggested this week by British Cycling performance director Stephen Park.

Intriguingly, this suggestion was not ruled out by a senior IOC insider when it was put to him in Lausanne as a possible worst-case scenario this week, and the medical directors of international federations have been consulted on their thoughts about this option.

It would make for a strange and diminished Olympic experience of course. TV cameras would be told to focus on the athletes, rather than the empty seats. The Tokyo authorities would have to refund the cost of millions of tickets, at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.

But at least the athletes would get to compete. And the IOC would have honoured its commitment to its broadcast partners to stage the event. In Japan, as elsewhere in the world, sports like baseball and sumo wrestling are currently being staged behind closed doors. Could this be the authorities preparing for and learning about how to handle such an approach later in the year? Is Plan B already being rehearsed?

• Delay it by a whole year.
• Try to re-locate the event elsewhere.
• Or cancel it altogether, which as Pound suggested last week, actually feels like the most likely outcome in the event the outbreak prevents the Games taking place as planned.

That may seem unthinkable. The impact would be hard to quantify, But interestingly, it may not be as cataclysmic to the IOC as you may imagine.

The host city contract states that in the event of a cancellation, the local organising committee “waive any claim and right to any form of indemnity, damages or other compensation or remedy of any kind”. So Tokyo could not sue the IOC for damages.

The IOC has built up reserves of about £700m in case a Games is lost, and which would enable it to still support international sports federations and national Olympic committees.

The IOC is thought to have spent about £20m on insurance to cover most of the £800m investment it pumps into each summer Olympics.

On the assumption that its policy covers diseases like coronavirus, the IOC could claim for lost income.

Who would be the biggest losers in the event of cancellation?

The insurance industry, which would suddenly face hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of claims from broadcasters, advertisers, sponsors, hotels, and of course the local organisers themselves, all trying to claw back some of the losses they would incur.

Japan, which may have insurance for lost ticket sales, but would be unable to reclaim the estimated £10bn it has spent on infrastructure and preparation for the Games over the past seven years as it tries to use the event as a means of kickstarting a recovery from the 2011 Tohoku disaster. And it is too late to scale back now. The investment has been made. The loss in tourism revenue would also be a major blow to the country’s struggling economy.

And finally the athletes, men and women who have spent years dreaming of and training for the Games. For many, Tokyo will be their only chance of experiencing the Olympics.

When one considers just how much is at stake, perhaps it is no surprise that Bach seems so reluctant to even contemplate the suggestion of a delay or cancellation, and is in no rush to take a decision before he needs to.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/51756253?fbclid=IwAR11M2zwZipPSE2mshgXCAd6SvnBxDyBfyJvFIKpWh1XOY6Lg-nxPVDfgYs

March 11, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | 1 Comment

Japan to close temporary all schools nationwide to control spread of virus

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces the government’s plan to ask all schools in Japan to cancel classes from March 2 until spring break amid the spread of the new coronavirus in the country, during a meeting of the coronavirus task force headquarters at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, on Feb. 27, 2020.

Abe asks all schools in Japan to temporarily close over coronavirus

February 27, 2020

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday the government will request all elementary, junior high and high schools in Japan to close from Monday until the end of a spring break through early April amid concern over the spread of the new coronavirus.

In a meeting of a government task force to fight the virus, Abe cited “children’s health and safety” as the top priority and said the measure, which also includes schools for special needs education across Japan, is intended to better cope with a risk of infection to be generated by students and teachers spending long hours together.

Abe also asked schools to take the best possible steps to prevent infection, such as minimizing the number of participants, if they are to hold entrance exams and graduation ceremonies in the coming weeks.

Japan’s school year ends in March and a new academic year typically starts in early April.

Abe announced the measure as opposition parties have stepped up criticism of his administration for not responding quickly enough, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 patients continuing to rise in Japan and the end of the outbreak of the China-originated, pneumonia-causing virus not yet in sight.

The number of confirmed infections in Japan topped 900 on Thursday, including over 700 from the Diamond Princess, a virus-hit cruise ship docked in Yokohama near Tokyo.

Given that schoolchildren are expected to stay home in the coming weeks, Abe requested that government agencies and companies allow workers to take days off so they can spend more time with their families.

Nursery schools will be excluded from the nationwide closure request, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Abe also instructed the government to “prepare necessary legislation to curb the spread of infections and minimize the impact on the lives of people as well as the economy.”

Meanwhile, some schoolteachers expressed concern about the prime minister’s request as they have to adjust class and event schedules.

“A one-month closure is unheard of and its impact will be significant,” said a teacher at a public elementary school in Tokyo.

“I’m in the middle of discussions with my colleagues on how to determine grades for students and distribute them,” he said.

Abe’s announcement came as a number of schools have already decided to close or scale down their activities.

Earlier Thursday, the Osaka city government said it will temporarily close all city-run elementary and junior high schools, and kindergartens from the following day through March 13 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

It will diminish the scale of graduation ceremonies scheduled during the closure period by limiting the number of participants and shortening program hours as well, according to the most populated city in Japan outside the Tokyo metropolitan area.

“We will conduct a simultaneous shutdown to ensure safety and prevent expansion of infections,” Osaka Mayor Ichiro Matsui said at a meeting with senior city officials.

During the closure, schools will gather information on health conditions of students from parents and report to the education board if they find any concerns.

In Tokyo, Ochanomizu University said the state-run institution will close affiliated kindergarten, elementary school, and junior and senior high schools from Friday for about a month until early April, following a spring break.

Prince Hisahito, the 13-year-old nephew of Emperor Naruhito, attends the junior high school affiliated with the university.

“I believe it’s an unprecedented closure for such an extended period of time,” a university official said.

Similarly, most of the 1,600 elementary and junior high schools on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido were already closed Thursday for a week.

The action came a day after the Hokkaido board of education urged local authorities to temporarily close all public and private elementary and junior high schools in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.

Machiko Inari, a 40-year-old resident of Hakodate, said she will take a week off to look after her daughter, a fifth-grader, and son, a kindergarten student.

“Although it will affect my work and co-workers, it’s better if it reduces the risk of infection for children as the disease is still relatively unknown,” she said.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200227/p2g/00m/0na/101000c?fbclid=IwAR0qLSuKf8CkSUrIoz6JaZTdjusHkho-FH4xFWD30Gwx7PxRQI_Duemc7UI

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, center, speaks during a meeting of a task force on the new coronavirus at his official residence in Tokyo Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. Abe was asking all elementary, middle and high schools to remain shut until spring holidays begin in late March.

Japan to close schools nationwide to control spread of virus

February 27, 2020

TOKYO — Japan will close schools nationwide to help control the spread of the new virus, the government announced Thursday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked all elementary, middle and high schools to remain shut until spring holidays begin in late March.

The measure affects 12.8 million students at 34,847 schools nationwide, the education ministry said.

It does not affect DODEA schools for now, said Todd Schlitz, the DODEA-Pacific chief of staff.

Abe’s announcement came hours after several local governments announced their own decisions to suspend classes.

“The coming week or two is an extremely important time,” Abe said. “This is to prioritize the health and safety of the children and take precautions to avoid the risk of possible large-scale infections for many children and teachers who gather and spend hours together every day.”

The decision comes amid growing concern about the rise in the number of untraceable cases of the virus in northern Japan and elsewhere. Japan now has more than 890 cases, including 705 from a quarantined cruise ship. An eighth death from the virus was confirmed Thursday in Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, now considered a site of growing cluster.

Officials in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido said they were closing all 1,600 elementary and middle schools. Hokkaido now has 54 confirmed cases, the largest in in the country outside the cruise ship.

The emergency school closures come as schools were busy preparing for graduation ceremonies at the end of the school year. Koizumi primary school Vice Principal Norinobu Sawada said the decision to suspend classes was unavoidable.

“The most important thing is to prevent infections, so there aren’t many other options,” he said.

https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/japan-to-close-schools-nationwide-to-control-spread-of-virus-1.620472?fbclid=IwAR0d9U0Njl2jOMWT3ZSN3QKp-JNP-M0tNjeVGFtqpgndawNcASVMiOf72o8

March 2, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan prompts 9 countries to restrict travel to and from Japan

A significant uptick in COVID-19 cases across Japan has triggered a flurry of advisories worldwide about travel to the country, with at least nine governments calling on their citizens to refrain from nonessential visits or to exercise increased caution during trips.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi confirmed Friday that the nine countries — Israel, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Samoa, Tonga, Micronesia, Kiribati, Bhutan and South Korea — had issued warnings against travel to Japan, one of the nations hit hardest by the new coronavirus epidemic.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato (second from right) attends a meeting of infectious disease experts held Monday at the ministry to discuss measures to tackle the new coronavirus outbreak in Japan

Rise in COVID-19 cases in Japan prompts travel advisory revisions

Feb 24, 2020

A significant uptick in COVID-19 cases across Japan has triggered a flurry of advisories worldwide about travel to the country, with at least nine governments calling on their citizens to refrain from nonessential visits or to exercise increased caution during trips.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi confirmed Friday that the nine countries — Israel, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Samoa, Tonga, Micronesia, Kiribati, Bhutan and South Korea — had issued warnings against travel to Japan, one of the nations hit hardest by the new coronavirus epidemic.

On its official website, the Samoan government strongly recommends that all persons intending to travel to China and any country affected by the coronavirus “postpone their travel arrangements unless necessary.” Samoa also warned that Japanese passport-holders must self-quarantine for at least 14 days at their point of departure, and must undergo medical clearance within three days prior to their trip to Samoa.

Thai media outlets have widely reported that the country’s Public Health Ministry is advising Thais planning to visit Japan to postpone their trips. The Thai government said the coronavirus outbreaks in Japan and Singapore had reached “the third stage” in which a growing number of infected residents have no record of contact with Chinese people or any history of traveling to China, where the virus is thought to have originated.

Israel’s safety measures follow reports that two Israelis were found to have contracted the virus after they were evacuated from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama Port, where they had spent around two weeks under quarantine.

About 10 Israelis were aboard the ship. Israel was one of about a dozen countries that arranged chartered flights to bring their citizens home last week, in an emergency measure aimed at protecting the evacuees from the virus.

All the evacuees had boarded the charter planes on condition that they tested negative for COVID-19. But at least 14 Americans, six Australians, four U.K. nationals and two Israelis have tested positive so far after returning home from Japan.

On Sunday, after the viral infections were confirmed in the evacuees from the Diamond Princess, Israel announced its entry ban for Japanese travelers and residents of Japan who had visited Japan or South Korea 14 days prior to their arrival, effective from Monday.

Micronesia has also barred direct entry for people from Japan.

Until last weekend, the Diamond Princess remained the biggest COVID-19 cluster outside of China with nearly 700 people found to have developed symptoms of COVID-19 or been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus that causes the disease.

On Monday, the total number of 763 cases reported in South Korea, which is struggling to contain a snowballing coronavirus outbreak of its own, surpassed that of the Diamond Princess.

But with 149 cases reported within Japan as of Monday evening the nationwide total including those from the ship was brought to 840, prompting other governments to upgrade their health advisories concerning travel to the nation.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has also issued a low-level travel advisory for Japan, warning of “sustained community spread” of the virus across the country through unknown routes of transmission.

In its notice, the CDC suggested older adults and those with chronic medical conditions — who may be at higher risk from severe disease — should discuss their plans with a health care provider and consider postponing nonessential travel. They also warned Americans considering trips to Japan of possible travel delays, quarantine and extremely expensive medical costs if they are suspected to have become infected with the virus.

Australia has also adjusted its advice for Japan. The Australian Government announced Sunday on Twitter that it recommends Australians exercise a high degree of caution in Japan due to an increased risk of sustained local transmission of the new coronavirus.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/24/national/japan-covid-19-travel-advisories/#.Xlf7OEpCeUl

A tea ceremony is held during an ume-viewing festival at Kitano Tenmangu shrine in Kyoto, western Japan, on Feb. 25, 2020.

7 countries restrict entry from Japan to thwart new virus spread

February 25, 2020

TOKYO (Kyodo) — Seven countries have restricted entry to Japanese nationals and those traveling from Japan in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday.

The countries are Israel, Samoa, Micronesia, Kiribati, Comoros, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands, Motegi said at a news conference.

The virus, which originated in China and causes a disease known as COVID-19, has spread across the globe infecting more than 78,000 people. There are over 800 confirmed cases of infection in Japan, with many from a cruise ship docked in Yokohama.

Japan has asked Israel to remove the travel restrictions, and briefed each country about Tokyo’s fight against the virus outbreak.

Motegi asked people to check the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s website before making travel plans.

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200225/p2g/00m/0na/069000c?fbclid=IwAR12dFKxr49FfRcYfvEYrwsMflKd13BtUkmhSd6DPeYGjaEDoDztfE1ecuY

March 2, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Could the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Be a Victim of COVID-19?

February 20, 2020

In a promotional video featuring Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, as well as fans of different nationalities, the organizing committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games revealed on Feb. 17 the event’s official motto: United by Emotion.

Yet if there’s one emotion linking the world today, it might be fear. The COVID-19 outbreak shows little sign of weakening. As of Feb. 19, the disease has infected more than 75,000, killed 2,014 and prompted over 50 countries and territories to close their borders to arrivals from China. The “devil” virus, as Chinese President Xi Jinping has called it, has already surpassed the combined death toll of SARS and MERS and lies on the cusp of becoming a pandemic that spreads around the globe. The next few weeks will determine whether containment efforts can prevent COVID-19 becoming the “black swan event” that Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang has warned may derail the global economy.

The economic repercussions already look severe. According to analysis by research firm Capital Economics, COVID-19 will cost the world economy over $280 billion in the first quarter of this year, meaning that global GDP will not grow from one quarter to the next for the first time since 2009. China’s growth is expected to slow to 4.5% over the same period. Some 5 million companies have Chinese suppliers, according to data company Dun & Bradstreet, and all are under threat from slashed manufacturing capacity.

Korean automaker Hyundai has shut its huge factory in Ulsan due to a shortage of parts. Apple has told investors it will fail to meet quarterly revenue targets and warned of global “iPhone supply shortages” from the shutting of Chinese factories. The slowdown may also undermine U.S. plans to massively boost exports of agricultural goods, energy and services to China, hampering any potential recovery in farming communities and the Rust Belt.

Travel in and around the region has ebbed significantly. Some 21 airlines have cancelled all flights to mainland China. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific has cut 40% of network capacity and asked 27,000 employees to take unpaid leave to help it stay afloat. Events from the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens to K-Pop concerts have been cancelled or postponed.

Now, speculation is mounting about one of the year’s biggest events due to take place directly in the orbit of the outbreak—the 2020 Olympic Games, which are to be held in Tokyo beginning July 24. Japan has the second highest rate of COVID-19 infections after China, with 695 people testing positive for the virus, most of them on a cruise ship docked at the city of Yokohama. Yet the Olympics torch relay is due to begin next month and traverse to all of Japan’s 47 prefectures over 121 days, coinciding with its popular cherry blossom bloom.

The chill on visitor numbers across Asia already risk making the Games a subdued affair. Japan received 9.6 million visitors from China in 2019, accounting for a third of foreign tourist expenditure, but Chinese arrivals have virtually ceased since the outbreak. According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Tokyo 2020 organizing committee chief executive Toshiro Muto said on Feb.5 he was “extremely worried that the spread of the infectious disease could throw cold water on the momentum toward the Games.”

Officials have since closed ranks as speculation about the Games has increased. Organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori insisted Feb. 13, “we are not considering a cancelation or postponement of the Games—let me make that clear.” As he spoke, some 3,700 people remained quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, anchored less than two miles from Yokohama Baseball stadium, a key Tokyo 2020 venue. (Those uninfected were scheduled for release beginning Feb. 19.)

Four days later, the city canceled the Tokyo Marathon due to take place on March 1 for all except elite runners. Dick Pound, a former Olympian swimmer and member of the International Olympic Committee, told TIME the organisation was monitoring the situation closely but said no one was talking about relocation or cancelation with five months still to go. “If there’s a legitimate pandemic that is potentially a lot more lethal than normal illnesses of flu, that’s when you need to start thinking about it. But not at this stage.”

Mori’s confidence is in line with projections that COVID-19 will fade during warmer and more humid summer months, as SARS did in 2003. But it’s still not clear why SARS declined as temperatures rose. Some coronavirus strains—like MERS—thrive in the heat, says Prof. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. The theory of COVID-19’s summer regress is simply “based on wishful thinking,” he says. “There is no data to support it.”

It’s hard to overstate the economic impact on Japan were the Olympics forced to be canceled or relocated. The investment surrounding the event is staggering; the Games are set to cost $25 billion, according to latest predictions, nearly four times the original estimate. According to hospitality research firm CBRE Hotels, 80,000 hotel rooms were forecast to open across Japan’s nine major cities between 2019 and 2021. Tokyo’s Okura hotel reopened in September after a $1 billion renovation. In May, national carrier Japan Airlines is due to launch a low cost subsidiary, Zipair Tokyo, at a cost of around $200 million, to meet increased demand surrounding the Olympics. It will be based at Tokyo Narita International Airport, which is currently undergoing an expansion to nearly double capacity. (Tokyo’s other main airport, Haneda, is also due to boost capacity by 70%.)

The coronavirus is already keeping international visitors away beyond China. Capital Economics research suggests tourism arrivals in Japan will fall by 40% this quarter due to COVID-19, knocking off 0.4 percentage points from growth. The U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization forecasts that Japan could lose $1.29 billion in tourism revenue over the same period. Koichiro Takahara, CEO of Tokyo-based ride-sharing app nearMe, says he fears the Olympics could get cancelled if the outbreak worsens. That, he says, “would have a big impact on my business, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.”

It would also impose a political cost on Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Already, his insistence during the bidding process that radiation from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant meltdown would be tackled has been called out after Greenpeace found radiation hotspots in December near where the Olympic torch relay will pass. Similar assurances that COVID-19 will not disrupt the Games will be treated with skepticism, says Jules Boykoff, a politics professor at Pacific University, Oregon who studies the Olympics and played soccer for Team USA. “For many, when they hear Abe and other officials saying that COVID-19 will not affect the Olympics, they hear the unmistakable ring of previous empty promises.”

But it’s unclear what a Plan B might look like. Simon Chadwick, professor of the Eurasian Sport Industry at France’s Emlyon business School, suggests a networked event held across different countries is a more likely alternative. (The 2020 UEFA European Soccer Championships and 2022 Commonwealth Games are slated for such a format.) Yet there will be considerable resistance from sponsors and broadcasters who have already ploughed vast resources into securing rights deals and promotional activities. NBC alone spent $1.4 billion on broadcasting rights for Tokyo 2020. In this regard, both host and business interests will be furiously resisting any deviation. “The Japanese government is surely lobbying the IOC hard as it seeks to protect its multitude of investments,” says Chadwick.

That might explain an apparent unwillingness to address the uncertainty. Asked what contingency plans were in place for moving or postponing the Games, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government told TIME, “We cannot provide a definitive answer to a hypothetical situation.” Yet as the virus spreads its tendrils further into the Asia region, the risks are only becoming more tangible

https://time.com/5786657/tokyo-olympics-coronavirus-asia-china/?fbclid=IwAR34KxB2bZoXlN1s8vBhoDGADn_iN8dQRzUoEOrWPTxZZj0MEqmF8yfsgTA

February 27, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Survey finds most Japanese do not want to attend live Olympic or Paralympic events

People pass a countdown clock for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo last Tuesday. Most Japanese have no desire to attend Olympic or Paralympic events, according to a recent Jiji Press poll.

Feb 23, 2020

Fewer than 40 percent of Japanese want to watch live Tokyo Olympic or Paralympic events at venues, a recent Jiji Press opinion poll found.

According to the survey, 9.2 percent of those questioned said they definitely want to watch the Olympic or Paralympic opening or closing ceremonies or competitions at event venues, while 27.4 percent want to attend such events only if possible.

The total figure of 36.7 percent is down from 37.1 percent in July last year, the last time the survey covered the subject, and 45.6 percent in 2018.

As many as 62.8 percent said they do not want to attend such events. The figure includes 23.2 percent who said they do not want to watch any live events and 39.5 percent who do not want to attend them so much.

Asked about reasons, with multiple answers allowed, 70.0 percent said they will be satisfied with watching different events via television broadcasts and other types of coverage, 38.5 percent said event venues are too far away to travel to and 22.0 percent said they are worried about heatstroke and other problems due to expected high temperatures during the games.

The low level of interest in attending live events is also believed to reflect concerns over the growing coronavirus outbreak.

Regarding Olympic and Paralympic tickets, only 1.3 percent said they had won tickets in the lottery.

The largest group, or 69.6 percent, said they do not plan to buy tickets, followed by 15.8 percent who did not join the lottery and have not decided whether they will buy them in the future and 5.6 percent who did not enter the lottery and have not yet decided what they are planning to do.

Also, 4.7 percent said they did not apply for the lottery but want to buy tickets, while 2.4 percent said they entered the lottery but failed to win so they want to purchase tickets.

On issues of concern about the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the largest proportion or respondents, at 39.9 percent, cited concern over transportation inconveniences that may result from traffic jams and congestion.

Some 38.0 percent said costs for the Tokyo Games may increase, causing more taxpayers’ money to be used to finance the event, while 37.2 percent are worried that Japan may be targeted by criminals or terrorists.

The interview-based survey was conducted on 2,000 people aged 18 or older across Japan for four days through Feb. 9. Valid responses were collected from 61.1 percent of those questioned.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/23/national/japanese-live-olympics-paralympics-survey/?fbclid=IwAR0AG7zGQ0XnUcyBpiCmGl4CesIMU1fC0A2iF45FyJUlpqQ024CT-Mpn2Ug#.XlJM1UpCeUk

February 23, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Time running out on Tokyo Olympics

February 19, 2020

Japan needs to rethink the Olympics. The most pressing reason to postpone or cancel the 2020 Tokyo summer games, which are due to start in late July, is a raging public health crisis of unknown dimensions.

The second most important reason to put the Olympics on hold is the Japanese government response to the public health crisis to date: it has shown itself to have feet of clay.

If the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked in Yokohama Port under quarantine, is a litmus test of Japan’s ability to exercise compassion and competence in an emergency involving thousands of people from around the world, the Abe government has failed miserably.

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo continues to dither while a ship docked in a Japanese port is ravaged by a dangerous virus; nearly 500 infected at latest count. Mr Abe and his political associates continue to proclaim the Olympics will not be delayed, but that is just wishful thinking.

How can a country move forward with plans to “welcome” the world to the Tokyo games when it can’t even deal with a single cruise ship stranded in Tokyo Bay?

• Japan hits back at ‘chaotic’ cruise ship quarantine claims
• Two passengers from quarantined cruise ship in Japan die
• Two die on virus ship

Ever since right-wing firebrand Ishihara Shintaro was mayor of Tokyo, the 2020 Olympics have been a pet project of Japan nationalists seeking to burnish a flawed legacy. They hold the vain hope the 2020 games will be as transformative as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics famously were, again heralding an era of national pride.

Perhaps the turning point of the Beijing Olympics of 2008 is a more apt comparison, given the upsurge of social control, information control and the discordant noise of nationalism.

Among other things, Mr Abe also sees the Olympics as a way of proving to the world that the Fukushima nuclear mess — Japan’s answer to Chernobyl — is not a cause for concern. This is ironic because the messy aftermath of the triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami and meltdown) of March 2011 has been seized upon by Mr Abe and his allies to tighten their grip on power.

Fukushima is an environmental tragedy, but the fact is, it cannot be fully contained, so the struggle has shifted to containing information.

Former prime minister Koizumi Junichiro has called Mr Abe “a liar” for sugar-coating the disaster. Mr Abe had statistics about evacuees were reclassified and altered to make things look more positive. He reassured the Olympic Committee that things at Fukushima were “under control”, which is to say he had the flow of information under control, not the toxic, radioactive leaks. In 2019, Mr Abe’s cabinet shamelessly made a move to dump a million tonnes of “harmless” contaminated water into the open sea.

Mr Abe’s ability to control information is bolstered by an “official secrets act” that criminalises journalists and whistleblowers for reporting leaked information, including radiation leaks. He has exonerated those most responsible for the nuclear mishap — big players in the electric power industry — and put the burden on the taxpayer, reminiscent of the US bailout of Wall Street bailout in 2008.

Only instead of toxic default swaps, it’s a swapping of feel-good stories for news of toxic doom.

Japanese consumers are justifiably nervous about food sourced near the Daiichi Nuclear plant, but Mr Abe is willfully pushing to include food from Fukushima at the Tokyo Olympic Village to “prove” it isn’t tainted.

Nor is it mere coincidence that Mr Abe’s government wants the Olympic Torch Run to commence just 20 kilometres from the damaged Dai-Ichi reactor.

Fearing negative news, hundreds of Japan evacuees from Wuhan were quietly dumped at Haneda Airport without mandatory quarantine. Some took the train home. The Abe government also made a point of asking the World Health Organisation (WHO) not to include the feverish passengers on Diamond Princess in Japan’s national case toll, presumably in order not to dampen “Olympic fever”.

Mr Abe’s icy silence regarding the stricken ship was broken with a silly string of excuses for not being able to test everyone. Hong Kong tested and cleared an entire cruise ship in less time than it took Japan to test a tenth of the passengers.

Even as the coronavirus started to spread among Japanese who had not travelled to China in mid-February, a gala Olympic torch event was held in the streets of Tokyo. Even as public health experts warned of a crisis brewing, it was business as usual for tourist festivals, including the uniquely vulnerable “10,000 naked man festival” in Okayama, which brings to mind the ill-fated “feast for 10,000” held by officials in Wuhan.

The Japanese government’s failure to test all cruise passengers meant even those American passengers “lucky” enough for US evacuation on Monday travelled on planes chartered by the US government in tight spaces with infected passengers.

There are many well-equipped military bases in Japan, dozens under the flag of the Rising Sun, dozens more under the Stars and Stripes.

With so many bases nearby, why is land quarantine not an option?

To portray Mr Abe’s cavalier treatment of the imperilled humans trapped aboard the Diamond Princess as racial or national prejudice is not fair; half of the passengers are Japanese.

But it is not wrong to suggest that the stigmatised human beings aboard that ship are being subject to intense prejudice, despite the fact that many of them happen to hold Japanese passports.

When it comes to stigma and exclusion, Japan can be ruthless to natives and non-natives alike. The tradition of “village outcast” (mura hachibu) in rural Japan has been updated to “shunned to the window” (madogawazoku) in modern offices.

This seems to be the fate of those left on the Diamond Princess, though not all of them have windows to sit by.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus continues to infect human beings regardless of race, creed and myths of national origin. Timely intervention makes a difference, as does common sense and common decency.

Unfortunately, we live in a time of toxic nationalism, intolerance and failed leadership. Not just Japan, but China and the US too. Similar dynamics can be seen at play in smaller countries as well, whether it be Thailand and Cambodia, or England and France.

Any leader who insists that “the show must go on” while doing nothing to help people in real distress proves a fundamental unworthiness to run the show.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1860744/time-running-out-on-tokyo-olympics?fbclid=IwAR28n9F_Roj3mCz2YaH_8QAewP0C8WPDawClR44WwU3sv9CPcDLeSLIFa7k

February 23, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Japan prepares for widespread coronavirus outbreak

February 18, 2020

As cases of the coronavirus emerge around the country, Japanese health officials are finding it increasingly difficult to identify the routes of infection. The government has announced it is stepping up screening efforts and will have the capacity to test 3,800 people a day starting on Tuesday.

Health ministry official infected despite no close contact

The number of cases in Japan stands at more than 500 as of writing, including 454 from a quarantined cruise ship docked near Tokyo.

Anxiety surrounding the virus has been palpable for weeks, with citizens throughout the country wearing face masks and carrying alcoholic disinfectant. But the concern reached new levels on Monday, after news broke of a health ministry official testing positive. The man, who is in his 50s, had been working on the quarantined cruise ship, reportedly helping control traffic as infected passengers disembarked. Worryingly, he was infected despite only working for about 10 minutes and maintaining a distance of at least two meters from the passengers.

Japan’s health ministry announced on Monday that one of its officials who had been working on the quarantined cruise ship was infected with the coronavirus.

Pressure on government grows

On Monday, the health ministry announced a directive instructing all municipalities to expand screenings to include people with symptoms who have not traveled to the Chinese provinces of Hubei and Zhejiang. Hubei is the epicenter of the outbreak, and has close business links with Zhejiang.

The measure comes after infections were confirmed among people who had neither been to the provinces nor come into contact with people who had.

Laboratories, quarantine stations, universities, and companies around the country are now increasing their personnel in an effort to meet the new testing requirements. The health ministry says the expanded manpower will enable screening of an additional 1,050 people a day.

The ministry says it will also provide medical institutions that have adequate screening equipment with the chemicals and materials needed to conduct testing.

National testing standard

The ministry also announced a set of standards to help people decide when to seek medical assistance:

• People who display symptoms of the common cold or a temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius for four days are advised to contact a local medical center.
• People experiencing severe fatigue or breathing difficulties, as well as those with fever, are advised to contact a local medical center.
• People vulnerable to viruses, including the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions, are advised to seek medical assistance if they have cold symptoms or fever for two days. Pregnant women are also advised to seek early consultation.

Additionally, ministry officials are urging people to stay home from school or work if they display any symptoms of the cold.

Clinical trials on HIV drug

Health experts are working around the clock on treatment. While it will be some time before a vaccine is available for widespread use, there are signs that one already existing drug may be effective at combating the virus.

The director of Disease Control and Prevention Center, Norio Omagari, told NHK World that a team of researchers from his organization is conducting clinical trials on a drug commonly used to treat HIV. Omagari says that some patients have recovered after the tests, adding that his team is expediting the process to verify the effectiveness of the treatment.

Social impact

The outbreak is affecting a wide range of activities in business and culture.

Japan’s Imperial Household Agency has canceled Emperor Naruhito’s public birthday greetings, which were schedule for February 23. The event would have marked the emperor’s first birthday since ascending to the throne and thousands were expected to attend. It is the first imperial birthday greeting to be called off since 1996, when there was a hostage crisis at the Japanese embassy in Peru.

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Marathon is planning to cancel entries from the general public. The race will be held on March 1, and about 38,000 people had originally registered to take part.

On the business side, Japanese companies with operations in Hubei Province and other parts of China have been struggling to maintain production. The full extent of the impact of the outbreak is difficult to assess but experts say it will prove to be a major setback for the global economy.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/880/?fbclid=IwAR3Ao_lQ48NQofFnUGkelL7rTpdn3zOH-7-onF19WIHkxjtpv1EK1V10vH0

February 23, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment

Tokyo marathon cancels mass race over coronavirus scare

March race will be restricted to elite runners

News raises more concerns over Tokyo Olympics

Runners, some wearing masks, compete on Sunday in a marathon in Kumamoto city, western Japan.

 

Feb 17, 2020

The mass participation race at the Tokyo marathon, which was expected to have 38,000 people taking part, has become the latest sporting casualty of the coronavirus. In a statement organisers confirmed the event on 1 March will now be limited to the elite field of 176 athletes and 30 wheelchair athletes.

“We have been preparing for the Tokyo marathon 2020 while implementing preventive safety measures, however, now that a case of Covid‑19 [coronavirus] has been confirmed within Tokyo, we cannot continue to launch the event within the scale we originally anticipated,” they said.

Organisers said that all registered runners would be allowed to defer their entry until next year. But they would have to pay again and would also not get their money back from this year’s race. One British runner who had entered the race told the Guardian that she understood the decision but from a personal and financial perspective it was hard to take 13 days before the race.

“My husband Max and I had been planning to run the Tokyo marathon for over two years so to hear this news is gutting,” said Sarah Dudgeon, who had been hoping to run the race in under three hours.

“We understand and respect the decision but you can’t helping feeling the personal ramifications. We had trained hard through the winter and were hoping this would be the running holiday of a lifetime. As things stand, we don’t know whether the £3,000 we have paid for flights and hotels will be refunded if we decide to run the race next year.”

Last week organisers had sounded confident the event would go ahead, announcing plans to distribute surgical masks to runners and volunteers as part of preventive safety measures against the virus. They had also told the 1,800 runners from China they could defer their entry until 2021 without any penalty.

However, the continuing spread of the virus meant on Monday they had little choice but to take the drastic step of limiting the race – which doubles up as an Olympic trial for Japanese marathon runners – to just over 200 participants.

The news is bound to raise more concerns about whether the virus could disrupt the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which are due to start on 24 July. So far there have been more than 70,000 cases in China, with 1,770 deaths. Last week senior officials at the International Olympic Committee insisted there was no plan B to reschedule the Games.

“There’s no case for any contingency plans or cancelling the Games or moving the Games,” John Coates, the head of an IOC inspection team, said. He added the World Health Organisation had advised him that a back-up plan was not necessary and that the Games remain “on track”.

Other experts have warned that the coronavirus-related health risks to Japan are hard to predict. “There is no guarantee that the outbreak will come to an end before the Olympics because we have no scientific basis to be able to say that,” said Shigeru Omi, a former regional director of the WHO.

The Olympic rings are displayed in front of the Japan Olympic Museum in Tokyo.

 

The Tokyo marathon is the biggest sporting event to be affected by the coronavirus. In the past month the World Indoor Championships, due to take place in Nanjing, China in March, were cancelled along with the Shanghai Formula One Grand Prix.

Other sporting events to have been called off or postponed in recent months because of the virus include the Hong Kong Sevens international rugby tournament, the annual Singapore Yacht Show and almost all sports in China.

The London marathon said the situation for the race in April remained unchanged. Hugh Brasher, the event director, said: “We, along with the rest of the world, are monitoring closely the developments relating to the spread of coronavirus and noting the updates and advice given by the UK government, the World Health Organisation and other public bodies. With more than two months to go before the event on Sunday 26 April, we will continue to monitor the situation. We will keep our deferment policy under review as the situation evolves.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/17/tokyo-marathon-restricted-to-elite-runners-over-coronavirus-scare-athletics

Runners compete in the 2019 edition of the Tokyo Marathon on March 3, 2019. Organizers on Monday announced that only elite runners will participate in the 2020 race due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Tokyo Marathon canceled for 38,000 runners over COVID-19 fears

Feb 17, 2020

As Japan ramps up its response to the coronavirus outbreak, one of the largest sporting events in the nation will be curtailed, with participation in the Tokyo Marathon limited to elite runners and wheelchair competitors, organizers said Monday.

Thousands of runners will no longer be able to participate in the event next month due to growing fears over a domestic outbreak of COVID-19.

 

The decision to eliminate general participation in the largest marathon in Asia emerged amid growing debate surrounding Tokyo’s preparations to host the 2020 Olympic Games in July despite the ongoing viral outbreak.

The Tokyo Marathon, which is slated for March 1, follows a roughly 42-km route that starts at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in Shinjuku and finishes at Tokyo Station.

Thirty-eight-thousand runners were set to run in the Tokyo Marathon this year. Participation will be drastically reduced by barring general participants to prevent further spread of the virus. Roughly 200 elite runners will participate in the marathon, which doubles as a qualifying race for the 2020 Games.

Marathon organizers had formed a panel of medical experts in January to devise safety measures as well as ways to prevent further spreading of the novel coronavirus.

On Friday, organizers asked Chinese residents to defer entry to this year’s marathon due to concern of the virus, which is thought to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Runners were told they would automatically qualify for next year’s marathon if they complied.

Deferred entry was offered to more than 1,800 runners of various nationalities based in China, where, as of Monday, the coronavirus has caused nearly 1,800 deaths and infected more than 70,000 individuals.

The outbreak has led to the cancelation or relocation of sporting events around the world. In January, the International Olympic Committee relocated the Tokyo 2020 Olympic boxing qualifying tournament for the Asian and Oceanic region, which was originally scheduled to take place Feb. 3-14, to the Jordanian capital of Amman.

Olympic women’s soccer qualifying slated for Feb. 3-9 was moved from Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the outbreak, to Australia, while Asian Champions League games involving Chinese clubs, including several scheduled to take place in Japan, have been pushed back to April and May.

Formula One’s Shanghai Grand Prix, originally scheduled for Apr. 19, has also been postponed.

Despite growing concerns that the novel coronavirus might impact the 2020 Olympics, organizers insist the game will go on.

After saying he was “seriously worried” the virus could dampen hype for the 2020 Games earlier this month, Yoshiro Muto, president of the Tokyo Organising Committee, backtracked and said cancelation or postponement was out of the question.

The 2020 Olympics, which will commence on July 24 with an opening ceremony, will play host to more than 11,000 athletes from over 200 nations.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2020/02/17/more-sports/track-field/covid19-tokyo-marathon/#.XkuDQCNCeUk

February 23, 2020 Posted by dunrenard | Japan | 2020 Olympics, Coronavirus | Leave a comment