Society

IOC: Tokyo Games will happen despite COVID

Sep 08 (NHK) - A senior official of the International Olympic Committee said in an interview with French media that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead next year regardless of the coronavirus situation.

The 2020 Games were postponed in March due to the global coronavirus pandemic. They are now set to open on July 23 next year.

In a phone interview with AFP, John Coates, the chair of the IOC's Coordination Commission for the 2020 Games, said "we will have athletes coming from places where the virus is under control and some where it is not."

He added, "there are 206 teams...so there's a massive task being undertaken on the Japanese side."

In the report AFP released on Monday, Coates also said "now very much these will be the Games that conquered COVID, the light at the end of the tunnel." He added, "it will take place with or without COVID. The Games will start on July 23 next year."

Officials of the IOC and the 2020 organizing committee are discussing ways to minimize costs arising from the Games' postponement.

A Japanese government task force held its first meeting earlier this month to discuss immigration control and PCR testing for athletes and officials. Coates is expected to join the discussion in an online meeting later this month.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide said on Monday that the Japanese government, along with the IOC and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, will prepare so that the Games are safe for the athletes and spectators.

Source: ANNnewsCH

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

1200-Year-Old Temple on Miyajima Reduced to Ashes

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

Tochigi Robbery-Murder Suspect’s Wife Posted Dance Videos on Social Media

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Garbage Burnoff Spreads to 3 Buildings in Okayama

A fire that broke out in Kagamino, Okayama Prefecture, shortly after noon on May 20th destroyed three buildings, including a home, after flames from open burning spread to dead leaves and then to nearby structures.

Gang Members Arrested After Opening Office Near Nursery

Six people, including a senior member of a group affiliated with the Sumiyoshi-kai crime syndicate's Kohei-ikka faction, have been arrested on suspicion of opening a gang office in a prohibited area near a nursery school in Tokyo's Itabashi Ward.

Six Police Officers Injured After Man Sprays Liquid at Station

A man who visited a police station in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the early hours of May 21st allegedly sprayed a transparent liquid inside the building, causing six police officers to complain of eye and throat pain and be taken to hospital with minor injuries.