News On Japan

Tokyo Olympics ticket buyers in Japan to get refunds

Oct 31, 2020 (Japan Times) - Fans living in Japan who bought tickets for the postponed Tokyo Olympics have been guaranteed refunds, the local organizing committee said Friday.

This does not apply to fans who have purchased tickets outside Japan through so-called Authorized Ticket Resellers appointed by national Olympic committees. Many have already set terms for refunds, which vary by nation or territory.

Fans in Japan who already know they cannot use their tickets next year can get their money back by applying online for refunds during the period from Nov. 10 to 30. The period for the Paralympic is Dec. 1 to 21.

Organizers also said that refunds would be made if limited seating were available at venues because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As the host there is a possibility that we may not be able to provide spectating opportunities to a part of the ticket holders,” Tokyo 2020 spokesman Masa Takaya said during an online briefing. “In that case we will provide a refund.”

The ticket situation — like everything else surrounding next year’s postponed Olympics — is up in the air. Conditions will depend on the pandemic.

Organizers and the International Olympic Committee say they intend to open the Olympics on July 23, 2021. But there are few details so far about exactly how this can happen — with or without a vaccine, using quarantines, or rapid testing.

The IOC and Tokyo organizers are running several task forces looking at ways to handle immigration and COVID-19. Japan has been relatively safe in the pandemic with about 1,750 deaths attributed to the coronavirus. But conditions elsewhere haven’t been as good.

Source: ANNnewsCH

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Typhoon No. 30 was rapidly weakening over the East China Sea at 4 p.m. on October 25 and is expected to become an extratropical cyclone by 3 a.m. on October 26, according to the latest weather forecast, although its merger with an autumn rain front could trigger prolonged heavy rainfall across western and eastern Japan, particularly along the Pacific coast and around the Izu Islands.

Typhoon No. 30 is expected to cause widespread travel disruption across western Japan on Monday, October 26, with railway suspensions, flight delays, ferry cancellations and possible expressway closures threatening the start of the working week. Forecasters are warning that heavy rainfall could affect transportation across a broad area even after the typhoon weakens into an extratropical low-pressure system early Monday.

Japanese drone manufacturer Terra Drone has delivered interceptor drones to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense for the first time, prompting Russia to threaten retaliatory measures on October 21, as Japan considers expanding domestic drone production and strengthening its coastal defenses through thousands of unmanned aircraft.

A critical security flaw discovered in PHP, a programming language used by an estimated 70% of the world's web systems, has triggered widespread disruptions across Japan since October 21, forcing banks, restaurant chains, government agencies and other businesses to suspend online services as a precaution against potential cyberattacks.

A growing wave of cyberattacks across Japan has raised concerns over the possible use of Chinese-developed artificial intelligence in hacking operations, with personal information belonging to tens of thousands of police employees potentially exposed and major companies forced to suspend online services, while cybersecurity experts warn that slow decision-making within Japanese organizations is allowing damage to spread.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A fire broke out at a warehouse believed to belong to Kurosawa Film Studio in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, shortly after midnight on October 23, prompting the dispatch of 40 emergency vehicles after a report that a battery was burning, with witnesses describing explosion-like sounds and vibrations strong enough to shake nearby windows.

Four dead fawns with missing body parts have been discovered around Kofukuji and Todaiji temples in Nara between August and October, prompting Nara Prefecture to hold an emergency press conference on October 23 after experts determined that wild animals were unlikely to have caused the injuries, raising suspicions that humans may have deliberately harmed the young deer.

A wave of copper thefts has struck public facilities across Japan, with thieves stripping metal from bridges, park shelters and shrines, including a park known as a popular anime pilgrimage site, while police in Nagano Prefecture have made arrests following a series of similar incidents.

Police in Kochi Prefecture have released footage of a group of teenagers riding motorcycles recklessly through Kochi City on January 1st, 2026, in a New Year's Day incident known as a "first sunrise motorcycle rampage," with 18 people aged between 15 and 19 arrested or referred to prosecutors for suspected violations of the Road Traffic Act.

Empress Emerita Michiko celebrated her 92nd birthday on October 20th, receiving birthday greetings from Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako and other members of Japan's imperial family at her residence in Tokyo, as concerns grow over her declining physical strength and signs of fatigue.

The deputy mayor of Saijo City in Ehime Prefecture died after being crushed beneath a festival float weighing approximately 3 tons while participating in a traditional autumn festival on October 17.

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, arrived in Tottori Prefecture on October 19 for her first visit to the region, where she is scheduled to attend a national disaster prevention conference and a symposium on disaster preparedness.

Police in Gunma Prefecture rearrested a 30-year-old man on October 18 on suspicion of murdering his former mother-in-law at her home in Ota City last month, following an attack that also left the woman's eldest son injured.