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Japan PM 'determined' to hold Olympics despite cancellation report

Sports

Japan PM 'determined' to hold Olympics despite cancellation report

By Agence France-Presse

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga speaks during a press conference at the his official residence in Tokyo on January 13, 2021. (Photo by Rodrigo Reyes Marin / POOL / AFP)

Japan's prime minister said he was "determined" to hold the Tokyo Olympics as organisers on Friday brushed off a report claiming officials think cancellation is inevitable.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's latest insistence that the postponed Games are on track comes after The Times cited an unnamed government source saying Japan has already shifted its focus to hosting in 2032.

"I am determined to realise a safe and secure Tokyo Games as proof that mankind will have overcome the virus," Suga said Friday, without actively denying the Times report.

Tokyo 2020 organisers, when asked about the report, said they were focused on delivering a "safe and secure" Games.

"Prime Minister Suga has expressed his determination to hold the Games, the government is leading a series of coordination meetings for Covid-19 countermeasures and is implementing thorough infection countermeasures in order to be able to hold the Games," they said in a statement.

"All our delivery partners... are fully focused on hosting the Games this summer. We hope that daily life can return to normal as soon as possible, and we will continue to make every effort to prepare for a safe and secure Games," they added.

Concerns have risen about the fate of the Games as Japan battles a third wave of virus infections, with polls showing around 80 percent of Japanese oppose hosting the event this year.

The Games are currently scheduled to open in just over six months, on July 23.

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Yoshihide Suga Tokyo Olympics

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