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Tokyo 2020's Hashimoto: will keep close eye on coronavirus situation

Tokyo 2020 organisers will keep a close eye on the coronavirus situation and make a decision on Olympic spectators in June based on that, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday.

World Athletics President, Sebastian Coe, Meets With Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, waits to begin a meeting with Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, on May 7, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

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TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 organisers will keep a close eye on the coronavirus situation and make a decision on Olympic spectators in June based on that, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday.

Japan is set to extend a state of emergency in Tokyo and four other areas until the end of May, meaning the measure would end less than two months before the Olympics, postponed for a year due to the pandemic, start on July 23.

Hashimoto also said it might be "a burden" for International Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach to visit Japan in the midst of the state of emergency. Japanese media reports have said Bach would attend a torch relay ceremony in the western city of Hiroshima on May 17, but Hashimoto said his visit had not been confirmed.

(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; writing by Elaine Lies)

Source: Reuters