Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), bump elbows after a ceremony in which Bach presented the Olympic Order to Abe at the Japan Olympic Museum in Tokyo on Monday. Photo: Kim Kyung-hoon/Pool via AP
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IOC chief Bach confident Tokyo Olympics will be safe for athletes, fans

58 Comments
By Hiroshi Hiyama

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factchecker Today  02:32 pm JST

I knew he'd get away with out needing to self isolate. Talk about Animal Farm.

Yep. How much more proof do we need that this is pandemic theatre? Mr Bach and his ilk can scurry about the world at will without having to quarantine, while the plebs are under restrictions of various levels.

24 ( +28 / -4 )

International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach said Monday he is now "very, very confident" that spectators will be able to attend next year's Tokyo Olympics, as he kicked off a visit aimed at boosting momentum for the pandemic-postponed Games.

Just more proof of what I said yesterday: this man is a complete imbecile.

22 ( +24 / -2 )

I knew he'd get away with out needing to self isolate. Talk about Animal Farm.

20 ( +21 / -1 )

Shinzo Abe resigned because he knew Olympics isn't going to be a possibility. Suga should drop the mask as well.

20 ( +22 / -2 )

Just not very many fans.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

social distance please!!!!!!!!!!

13 ( +15 / -2 )

The Olympic chief also pledged that the IOC would "undertake great efforts" to make sure as many participants and spectators as possible are vaccinated before arriving in Japan, if a vaccine is available by next summer.

100% should have to be vaccinated.

Japan shouldn’t welcome becoming a petri dish for the world.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Sure they will! Him and his family! They count!

12 ( +12 / -0 )

If a vaccine is safely implemented all around the world...why not?

Because there are 7.8 billion people on the planet. If you think even half of them will be vaccinated by next summer you’re way beyond hopeful.

12 ( +15 / -3 )

But IF it is safely implemented...why not?

Because as I said, it is impossible to ‘implement’ a vaccine (that is still unavailable and can’t be ‘implemented’ yet) globally to billions of people before next Summer.

But to keep you happy sure, IF it is ‘implemented’ why not?

But it won’t be.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

The only fans will be LDP supporters or workers for an LDP supporter using LDP supplied hand fans trying to look like a crowd while sweating to death, and wondering why they are there? Because an un named advertising agency needs to at least appear to have given value for money. What a wonderful world they live in.

10 ( +12 / -2 )

Can someone enlighten me if tickets were refunded or if the tickets people bought are good for next year? They really need the money from spectator tickets so they'll accept any reason to have spectators.

I’ve read that people in Japan are supposed to be able to get refunds. If not already, soon. I don’t know details.

Even though I’ve been in Japan for decades and have proper documentation and a Japanese phone, when I attempted to buy tickets the system told me tickets for my (outside of Japan) area were not on sale yet. I decided if they were going to be that way, it wasn’t worth the trouble of going.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

You can smell the desperation, it’s embarrassing.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Upon his arrival in Nippon, did Mister BAKA complete his 14-day (at his own expense) self-isolation ? Why not? One rule for the Elite, and another rule for the rest of us Proletariat...

10 ( +10 / -0 )

The elbow bumping that these and so many other public figures do for the cameras is so phony.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

But I don't expect 3.9 Billion people for the Olympics.

Well then think about it. Those that do come will be coming from some miraculous vacuum?

Do you really need this explaining to you?

7 ( +10 / -3 )

RecklessToday  03:29 pm JST

Well there certainly is a lot of negativity and sour grapes here. I think about the athletes and the dedication they made to compete, and overcoming this virus in some way is very inspirational.

Nobody's being negative toward the athletes as far as I can tell. Many of them have had their training restricted and all sorts of other freedoms curtailed like the rest of us. It's people like Bach who deserve the contempt dished out - one rule for him, etc.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

yeah like he is gonna say it isn't safe when he has money to make on it

7 ( +7 / -0 )

When did the elbow bump become an acceptable greeting? Seems weird that people are supposed to be 2 meters apart when possible, but to do this manuver you need to almost get face-to-face. :-D

7 ( +8 / -1 )

kusaisaruToday  07:03 pm JST

When did the elbow bump become an acceptable greeting? Seems weird that people are supposed to be 2 meters apart when possible, but to do this manuver you need to almost get face-to-face. :-D

it shows how incoherent and dangerous those politicians are.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Can someone enlighten me if tickets were refunded or if the tickets people bought are good for next year? They really need the money from spectator tickets so they'll accept any reason to have spectators.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@Cricky Because an un-named advertising agency needs to at least appear to have given value for money. 

They'll probably make their staff attend the Games, at least those who are not working already on it.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Why would anyone think it’s possible to make 7 billion people take a vaccine before next Summer when it’s been such an uphill struggle asking them to wear a mask?

5 ( +7 / -2 )

IOC chief Bach confident Tokyo Olympics will be safe for athletes, fans

Yeah, okay, that's so true (sarcasm). Don't mind that COVID-19 numbers are still up, more so from last year, while many foreigners are still banned from Japan travel.

I don't think so.

The Olympic chief also pledged that the IOC would "undertake great efforts" to make sure as many participants and spectators as possible are vaccinated before arriving in Japan, if a vaccine is available by next summer.

That is a big "IF." IF there is not vaccine by next summer, then what? They can try to make special exceptions for athletes, but IF there's no vaccine,

4 ( +4 / -0 )

As expected, people involved in Olympics will be getting priority in vaccines, rather than based on public health.

I guess the general population won't be getting vaccines by then.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Later Tuesday, Bach will hold a press conference with Tokyo Games Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori.

In this theater of the absurd, somebody for the love of dog ask them about IOC bribes, Black Tidings, and Dentsu.

This is like the Emperor has no clothes now in the way they do not acknowledge the situation. Or Bach et al has no mask.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I won’t be lining up for anything to be stuck in my body just to watch the sports circus...

3 ( +5 / -2 )

At my office now we do not shake hands and it is kind of awkward not to do it and unclear what is appropriate as a replacement.

Have you tried smiling and saying “hello”?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

I wouldn't be surprised if the Games went ahead without overseas spectators – only athletes and domestic fans.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I’ve read that people in Japan are supposed to be able to get refunds. If not already, soon. I don’t know details.

Thanks.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I'd be amazed if Japan let anyone into the country by summer - I'm booked to fly to Japan at the end of April but I know I will need to rebook (again).

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Money makes anything happen but in this case, the games will begin but at the end Japan will suffer a big loss. Spectators are not going to show, if this pandemic does not get any better by the time the athletes start to arrive. If they arrive!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It is unfair for those who trained for the 2020 Games. In that sense, the Game is a big loss. How many records supposedly be broken now is uncertain. How many talents who supposedly make history now is retiring ? Sad, and bad, all is because the headless chicken PM.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cash overules Care. The pandemic will still be raging . One person will be a catalist to mass infections.

The ultimate winner will be "Mega Deaths".

1 ( +1 / -0 )

No one would have been practicing. People’s lives are not on a deadline, there’s no reason to risk. The Tokyo games are already a lemon

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I seriously doubt anyone of you would be willing to be lab rats for the vaccine test. That’s a huge risk to take. You’re not going to get that many people inoculated.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I seriously doubt anyone of you would be willing to be lab rats for the vaccine test. That’s a huge risk to take. You’re not going to get that many people inoculated.

I would. If I were in the U.K. I would have volunteered for the current trials. You do not need to inoculate the whole population to achieve herd immunity, not everyone can be inoculated. Concentrate vaccinations on the old, young and the vulnerable.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Will be probably funny with all those new records based on doping. This time they cannot exclude the few remaining athletes if they are caught with having taken in their‘medications’. lol

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

no touching.

-5 ( +7 / -12 )

This report and the pictures itself is evidence in my opinion that the pandemic is fake or they all got PCR tested on the same day and came out negative so that why they are getting up and close while they tell the rest of us to distance ourself with others? You choose to believe what is real and fake news.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

@Bob

Do you understand the meaning of "implement"?

When I say, if a vaccine is safely implemented means that it is already available and already given to the public.

Of course I don't know if the vaccine will be safely implemented all over the world by next year summer...therefore I said "IF" a vaccine is safely implemented.

Of course there are many vaccine deniers, so because of these people the Olympics will be at a risk.

But IF it is safely implemented...why not?

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

@Bob Fosse

I am always optimistic and hopeful in everything...

But I don't expect 3.9 Billion people for the Olympics.

-12 ( +6 / -18 )

Let's wait and see...still 8 more months to go.

If a vaccine is safely implemented all around the world...why not?

-26 ( +3 / -29 )

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