Tokyo 2020 Olympics could be cancelled due to coronavirus

10 days ago, the Prime Minister Japan Shinzo Abe said that “the issue of canceling the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo due to the coronavirus epidemic is not being discussed.”

A couple of days ago, the same position was allegedly confirmed by the WHO: “the World Health Organization stated that there is no reason to cancel or postpone the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo,” said then the head of the coordination Commission of the International Olympic Committee John Coats.

However, on February 16, the Japanese authorities officially urged citizens to avoid any gatherings of people due to the high risk of spreading the new coronavirus in Japan.

Japan's Health Minister Katsunobu Kato urged his citizens on Sunday to "avoid crowds and inconsequential gatherings," including the notoriously crowded commuter trains. The official stressed that Japan is “entering a new phase” in the spread of the coronavirus epidemic COVID-19, which so far in the Land of the Rising Sun has infected almost 60 people.

In fact, Japan has taken the first step towards cancelling the Summer Olympics. Given that the Olympics have long gone from being a celebration of sports to a business of big money mixed with politics, its cancellation is only a matter of time.

Holding the Games in empty stands is pointless for business, and the stands will definitely be empty as soon as the number of people infected with the coronavirus in Tokyo exceeds a certain psychological threshold: foreign tourists will not go to Japan for the Olympics and the Japanese themselves will not come to the stadiums.

Source: tourprom