Japan denied reports regarding cancellation of Tokyo Olympics. A government spokesman said there was “no truth” to a report in The Times that Japan was now focused on rescheduling the event to 2032.
“We will clearly deny the report,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai said in a press conference on Friday.
Though much of Japan is under a state of emergency due to the third wave of COVID-19 infections, Tokyo organisers have consistently vowed to press ahead with the Games scheduled to open on July 23 after having been postponed in March last year.
“Our partners including the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee were “fully focused” on hosting the games as scheduled,” said The Tokyo 2020 organising committee.
In early international reactions, the Australian and United States Olympic Committees said they were preparing for the Games as planned.
“Unfortunately, I need to address unfounded rumours that the Tokyo Olympic Games will be cancelled, rumours that only create more anxiety for athletes,” Matt Carroll, the chief executive of the Australian committee, told reporters in Sydney on Friday.
“The Tokyo Games are on. The flame will be lit on July 23, 2021.”
Inputs from various news agencies