Agency :
Tokyo Olympics chief Seiko Hashimoto is still keen to hold the postponed Games with spectators despite receiving a report from the government’s top Covid-19 adviser stating that the Games should be held behind closed doors.
Shigeru Omi, the Japanese government’s top medical adviser on Covid-19, told Hashimoto Friday morning that the best way to avoid expanding the risks of further infections is to hold the Games without any audience. “That was his recommendation,” Hashimoto told reporters at a press conference. “Ideally, the best way is to hold the Games without spectators.”
But the former seven-time Olympian said that Omi also provided her other recommendations to hold the Games with spectators. “When we look at other sports events, like J-League and professional baseball, they have provided us sufficient evidence that they have been able to accomplish so far under the circumstances. So we also need to take those cases into consideration as well.”
Each match from the football J-League and professional baseball league can seat half of the venue capacity, or 5,000 fans at most, even during the state of emergency covering Tokyo and other nine prefectures.
