AFP, Tokyo :
The Tokyo Olympics should take place before a live audience, Japan’s new Olympics chief has said, despite concerns about hosting the Games during a global pandemic.
Seiko Hashimoto, who became the Tokyo 2020 president last week, told Japanese media the Games should have spectators just like other major sports hosting events before fans, although in limited numbers.
Any final decision will depend on the coronavirus pandemic, she said in an interview conducted Friday and published a day later. “When we think about the possibility of holding the Olympics without fans in the stands, athletes will definitely wonder why there are no fans just for the Olympics and Paralympics when other competitions are allowing in spectators,” Hashimoto told reporters, according to the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
“Everyone wants an early decision about the direction to be taken regarding fans to prepare tickets and hotel accommodations,” Hashimoto said, according to the daily.
The seven-time Olympian-turned-politician last week replaced Yoshiro Mori, 83, who stepped down after making sexist remarks about women with only five months left before the Games.
