tokyo 2020 olympics

Japan, IOC agree to postpone Tokyo Olympics for one year

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What we all new had to happen will be official soon. Then can we get some testing going to see how far down the road we are for the sake of the nation please.

21 ( +24 / -3 )

The trickle down of steaming .... about this is rediculous. Eveyone with sense knows that the decision was made before and they are just finding a way to ease it out.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

They obliquely kept swindling with the torch just to retain hope but at no avail. Pack it up - you're done here.

14 ( +16 / -2 )

Why phone talk. They should meet in person, both maybe believe COVID19 is a pesky hoax.

-7 ( +6 / -13 )

I suggested couple of weeks ago on another media site regarding Tokyo Olympics to postpone one year. It now seems to be what I had suggested. Currently, there is a drug Hydroxy Chloroquine that shows promising signs for COVID 19 and until such time that a vaccine can be discovered, this is a good alternative drug which is FDA approved. I predict by summer, most of the spread of COVID 19 will slow down and recovery stage will begin to take place. Japan, S. Korea, and China seemed to have flatten the curve. One year is a good idea to postpone. The Olympic celebration will be just what the world need after this horrific pandemic crisis. And what a great place to do this in.....Tokyo. All the best to Japan!

-22 ( +5 / -27 )

Modelling by epidemiologists shows this pandemic will be around from 18 months to two years. Even if the number of cases flattens, history has shown us that they they will spike again. This will happen on and off for the duration of the pandemic, especially when enforced measures like self isolation are relaxed. This is the new normal for sometime, do not think all will be fine by this time next year. Do not think there will be a vaccine any time this year.

9 ( +14 / -5 )

It's already been postponed (BBC, ABC) this phone call thing is just a ruse a way to make the Japanese Government look like they had a say.

21 ( +24 / -3 )

" I predict by summer, most of the spread of COVID 19 will slow down and recovery stage will begin to take place"

There will be a second wave once restrictions are lifted. It is not yet known why Japan has not had the same problems as other countries. Many stories of treatements that might work but none are close to being used widely.

The virus seems for most people to take abotu five to seven days to deal with however on about day five some people go into complete body shut down. There lungs fail to get enough oxygen for the body and the fever causes all sort of organ failure including heart attacks. Imagine suddenly drowing from fluid on your lungs and a doctor having zero method of helping you but putting you in a coman and shoving a tube down your throat to force oxygen into your body.

Wishful thinking on the levels of Bach and Abe if you predict a slow down by summer.

10 ( +17 / -7 )

Still going on ???.Stop trying to kill people for yr own selfish needs. Stop until next 2021.

7 ( +13 / -6 )

"If it is difficult to hold the Games in a complete way, we have to decide to postpone it, giving top priority to (the health of the) athletes," Abe said.

> Hosting a "complete" Games mean there will be spectators as usual and no downsizing involved, according to the prime minister.

Well then you're going to have to postpone it mate, because its not difficult to hold the games in a "complete way"- its going to be downright impossible.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

If they really want to, there’s nothing stopping them from changing the dates. A precedent was the scheduling of Winter Olympics in 1992 and 1994 in order to allow for a 2 year gap between Summer and Winter Olympics. 

Assuming things have quietened down by then, Mar/Apr 2021, coinciding with 桜, would be the optimal time and it would burnish Japan’s credentials as a responsible global citizen if it were to be proactive in enlisting support for this.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Abe: Did you get the script I faxed through?

Bach: Yes I did.

Abe: OK after three, let’s read it out together. 1...2...3.

Bach/Abe: “I think it’s for the best that we postpone the Olympics until next year”.

Abe: That was clearly a joint decision, right?

Bach: I’d say so, yes.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

Just a few days ago these same clowns were adamant that the Tokyo Olympic will go ahead. Now they are talking about the safety of athletes when in reality they were the least bit concerned about it. Countries like Canada and Australia did the right thing of simply telling that that they were prioritizing the safety of their athletes and team members by pulling out. The IOC and Japan Olympic Committee put money before human life in their reckless decision to keep the Olympic on schedule until now. It’s just a shame that they didn’t have a plan B since Japan is so prone to disasters like earthquakes or even if Mt. Fuji had erupted! What would they have done then? Japan Government and Tokyo Olympic Committee were saying that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to postpone it and IOC were also saying that postponement will not happen...fools! Well at least people in Japan can get tested more easily and more realistic infection rate numbers can be released after the postponement!

22 ( +26 / -4 )

Currently, there is a drug Hydroxy Chloroquine that shows promising signs for COVID 19 and until such time that a vaccine can be discovered, this is a good alternative drug which is FDA approved

Fingers crossed, but it is probably too soon to get carried away:

www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/danvergano/chloroquine-dangers-coronavirus

If it passes the trials it will be a game changer, but it is currently just based on anecdotal evidence, not a double blind trial.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Telephone call is just for the public, in reality IOC and Japanese committee members have probably already worked out a deal with their layers present. Problem is postpone to what date? Summer didn't work out (no marathons), so to request it be done exactly one year later would go down very bad with athletes. But autumn would have the sport TV companies quarreling about scheduling conflicts...

3 ( +4 / -1 )

CrickyToday 01:50 pm JST

It's already been postponed (BBC, ABC) this phone call thing is just a ruse a way to make the Japanese Government look like they had a say.

It's all about avoiding future litigation:

"Top sports lawyer John Mehrzad QC explains that it will be crucial for litigation purposes who it is that effectively pulls the trigger, because whoever does could open themselves up to potential allegations of breach of the host-city contract.

"The party that 'cancels' or 'postpones' that agreement, unless mutually agreed by the other party, will put itself in breach of contract and expose itself to huge [billions of dollars] damages claims," he said.

The recipient of any claim could point to the coronavirus pandemic being a "force majeure", or 'Act of God' - though Mehrzad points out that an insurer would be likely to say it must be impossible for the Games to be staged for such a case to stand.

At present, there is no World Health Organization diktat saying that the Olympics cannot be staged.

The IOC has the contractual right to cancel the Games on safety grounds, and is protected from any claims for damages by the host city in such an event.

However, the host-city contract does not refer to postponements, and it is understood that the IOC would much rather it was Japan that ultimately took the decision.

The boycotts from certain major NOCs could therefore play a key role in clearing this logjam, because not having the participation of Team Canada and the Australian delegation would make it an incomplete Games."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/52007137

16 ( +17 / -1 )

I'd like to see the Olympics held at cherry blossom time, in the last week of March and first week of April 2021. Spring would be a good time. Tourists would love it. And it doesn't conflict with the World Swimming and World Athletic Championships which are scheduled for summer of 2021, though all three events would feature the same competitors.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

And the result is a 1 year delay

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Realistically, the Olympics should be postponed until 2024, as I and others have also suggested in previous comments.

@Luddite is right: there is no way this pandemic will be over in time to hold anything in 2021. Even 2022 will be a stretch, since once this crisis is over, it will take months and months for the economy to recover, air travel to recover and for people to be comfortable to travel again. This ignores the fact that Olympic trials will have to be reheld all over the world in order to pick new teams to compete in Japan

Unfortunately, with or without a vaccine, we are probably looking at between 18 months and two years of severe disruption to all facets of our lives.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Well, Abe just said he spoke to Bach and told him he got agreement on a proposal to got ahead and aim to hold the Olympics sometime in 2021 if they are able to.

My bad translation from the TV, but it seems this has left things open for lots of interpretation.

Any other takes on this?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

The "unthinkable" is now a done deal. It sounds like Abe got the G7 okay for a one-year extension last week.

My thoughts are with any poor buggers who just spend today and the last few days manufacturing "Tokyo 2020" souvenirs that are now headed for the bin. I found out this morning via the BBC. I hope they were told before that.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Well-done. Abe had to get the message. Looking forward to 2021. The Games are Japan's. But not now.

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Finally Abe-kun!

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

I'm glad, not about the agreement itself, but that my earlier prediction (decision will come fast, before the torch relay to be launched on March 26) is now meeting reality.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Even if the number of cases flattens, history has shown us that they they will spike again. 

Then take it back to basics and beef up your own immune so you are ready to fight. Pre-existing conditions like diabetes or heart disease are not inevitable. Some steps everyone can take which should be a first line of defense for all: intermittent fasting, 7-8 hours sleep, low carb diet, breathing etc. At least before a vaccine lets everyone fall back into their old habits.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Finally thinking people over money

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

So, no ticket refunds? I think there are going to be many very unhappy people. Unbelievable.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

@gogogo

Finally thinking people over money

Yes, and no. One of the issues is that the JOC, the planners, the government and the entire nation are now going to focus just one thing for the next year to prepare for those games.

The fight against the coronavirus is going to take the backstage here now. Probably within days, cases in Japan are going to peak, before mysteriously falling to zero. Japan will then be open for business again as the nation comes together to prepare for Tokyo 2021.

I really hope I am wrong on this one, but honestly can't see it how they'd have it any other way.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Well done,

The right decision.

A Vaccine should be ready early 2021.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

Thank you to the governments of Canada and Australia for initiating this process by announcing their intention not to take part in any games occurring in 2020. The next question is: Can the Olympics be held in the midst of an economic depression and ongoing pandemic concerns? Because those will both be factors in spring or summer 2021. The United States hosted both the Winter and Summer games in the midst of a worldwide economic depression in 1932 (in Lake Placid, NY and Los Angeles, respectively). But the Olympics back then were a far smaller affair and not the massive television and construction boondoggle they have become today. Plus there were no pandemic concerns at the time.

And discussion needs to start now about moving the February 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing, China to another country. As far as I'm concerned, the government of that country has forfeited the right to host any major international athletic events for the rest of the decade.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Delay for 1 year, AND schedule it for October, like 1964. Ignore the demand of US broadcasters who don't want the Olympics to interrupt football broadcasting etc.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

The only logical decision. So much for Bach - and some posters here mind you - stating until very recently that a "postponement was impossible", "Schedules for 2021 have been locked in", "The athletes village will be taken over by the owners in September 2020". Impossible, they claimed.

It was ALWAYS possible - and the right thing to do.

A Vaccine should be ready early 2021.

I hope you are right. I really do for humanity's sake. But I have not seen any researchers claim this is likely. Most are saying a 12-18 month time-frame.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

So will Japan actually start testing people now or could they not lose the face?

Social distancing in Japan is also a joke, nightclubs are still mostly open in Tokyo.

Maybe it is already too late to convince the Japanese population that the disease is serious because they have been talking it down for so long and making it seem as though the virus is incapable of spreading in Japan and Japanese people are naturally immune

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Just lost 40 mins of my life watching this on nhk tonight.

Repeated everything 3+ times.

Abe spoke like it was all his idea and the commentators spoke likewise. As others noted, this was all decided well before and today's announcement was just a show - perhaps necessary but a show still the same.

And the cringe moment came when Abe said the new games will be a victory for mankind over the corona virus.

So now it's not for Fukushima but for defeating covid-19??? Or maybe they both will share equal billing.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

"And discussion needs to start now about moving the February 2022 Winter Olympics out of Beijing, China to another country. As far as I'm concerned, the government of that country has forfeited the right to host any major international athletic events for the rest of the decade." Excellent idea. Russia was expelled for steroid abuse and lying about it. I think the Chinese government hiding information that led to a pandemic certainly qualifies. Not to mention that the unsanitary conditions that led to this virus are still rampant and will likely lead to another health crisis. My biggest sympathies, though, are with the regular citizens of China who are prisoners of this government.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

So bets are open again over were the marathon events will be held: Tokyo at night, Sapporo, or maybe even inside the long highway tunnels beneath Tokyo, should be possible by now to fit a 42km course inside ;-)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

So, no ticket refunds? I think there are going to be many very unhappy people. Unbelievable.

All that hasn't been decided yet. I would say that they will honor them next year. People have things like cancelling flights and hotels to work on now which may be a headache for hotels and flights with a no cancellation policy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Why didn't they shift to cooler months, like May, to reduce the Tokyo heat?

Do not think there will be a vaccine any time this year.

Not one that is proven safe for an entire lifetime, but hopefully, mitigation strategies for the virus will be nailed down with OTC drugs to make the symptoms an inconvenience, not death.

Once 80+% of the world has had the virus and recovered, the spreading will drop off again. Don't know when that will happen, but Trump is doing all he can to kill as many compromised and elderly Americans as possible by suggesting that 15 days is anywhere near sufficient.

There are 2 humps in the infection rates for viruses historically. Hopefully, we, humans, are smart enough to make the second hump much less than the first. We just need for politicians to actually listen to experts. The choice is constant pain for 3-4+ months or separate pain for 3-4+ months 2 times.

OTOH, I have seen a bunch of people who clearly don't exercise at all out walking thanks to being at home. Fear of death from poor cardiovascular health seems to have gotten through to some people.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

 Probably within days, cases in Japan are going to peak, before mysteriously falling to zero. Japan will then be open for business again as the nation comes together to prepare for Tokyo 2021.

There’s no point Japan being ‘clear’ of the virus if other countries are still affected; if the world cannot/will not join in, it won’t be the ‘perfect’ games that Abe and Mori say they want.

It isn’t something that Japan can manipulate.

Invalid CSRF

1 ( +3 / -2 )

A shame but it's for the best. These are unprecedented times we find ourselves in, we don't know what happens next.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Alfie Noakes

It's all about avoiding future litigation...

Exactly. Whether your are a PM of Japan or a Tokyo governor, or anybody else, you just cannot announce its cancellation or postponement without consulting major stakeholders. Contracts have legal bindings and you just cannot arbitrarily drop out without facing legal consequences. Just listening to what Abe or Koike have been saying, as if they were going to perform the games as usual, have clearly shown it. It amazes me how people cannot read between lines.

Koike said today she was "relieved." That tells you everything. Still so many details need to be worked out, but it appears now there is a general consensus among the major stakeholders.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Euro 2020、I have been offered either a refund or keep the tickets to next year.

I imagine Olympics will be the same

2 ( +3 / -1 )

And regarding testing now Japan has less reason to care about what the world thinks so there is a greater possibly they will accelerate current policy regarding the corona virus.

Whether limiting testing is true or false right or wrong as I am not a medical professional I can not say

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Currently, there is a drug Hydroxy Chloroquine that shows promising signs for COVID 19 and until such time that a vaccine can be discovered, this is a good alternative drug which is FDA approved.

It is approved by the FDA for treatment of things like malaria and lupus. NOT coronavirus. Trump talking about it being a “game-changer” has already led to the death of a man I Arizona and his wife is in critical condition. Even Dr. Fauci himself is trying to clean up the mess by saying that chloroquine and it’s sister compounds have only provided anecdotal evidence of helping treat COVID-19. Problem is, the tinfoil hat crowd has been buying the stuff up thinking it’s a wonder-drug and now hospitals are running into shortages for people who actually need it. A vaccine is AT BEST a year and a half off, even with drug companies opting to skip animal trials and going straight to human trials.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

...Aaaand what'll you know, the US media is also complicit in presenting this as though Abe and co. wanted to postpone this all along for the sake of the athletes and citizens-

[ Facing heavy global pressure and rising athlete dissent, the International Olympic Committee sharply reversed course Tuesday and agreed with Japanese officials that the Olympics and Paralympics will not take place this summer in Tokyo in the wake of the growing novel coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday proposed a one-year postponement to IOC leadership, including President Thomas Bach. The IOC quickly agreed that the Games would be held about one year after the previously scheduled start date, July 24.

“I have made a proposal of about a year,” Abe said. “President Bach said he agreed 100 percent, and we agreed to hold the Olympics by summer 2021.”

Abe said he and Bach agreed “to cooperate in order to hold the Olympics in the complete form, as a testament to victory over the infection.”

In a joint statement, the IOC and Japan’s Olympic organizing committee said they made the decision “to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.” ]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/03/24/japan-olympics-postponement/

3 ( +3 / -0 )

2021 is better for Japanese star swimmer Rikako Ikee, who only just recovered from leukemia

But this would be a major logistics nightmare since there are already other planned events in 2021

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Luddite:

Modelling by epidemiologists shows this pandemic will be around from 18 months to two years. Even if the number of cases flattens, history has shown us that they they will spike again.

No. You can not use historical precedent here. Every case is unique, and in this case, massive ressources are being thrown at this, technology has advanced a lot, and everyday we learn more about it. And the days where the CCP suppressed information and destroyed research are past. One year is plenty to deal with this thing.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Reyhardn Fox:

It is approved by the FDA for treatment of things like malaria and lupus. NOT coronavirus. Trump talking about it being a “game-changer” has already led to the death of a man I Arizona and his wife is in critical condition.

You do realize that these people swalled fish tank desinfectant containing a chemical with a similar name and not the drug reference by Trump, or the media where you heard this forgot to mention that? And Trump certainly did not recommend self-medication, neither with fish tank desinfectant or anything else.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Tokyo has bad luck with Olympics - the 1940 Tokyo Olympics didn't happen in 1940 neither

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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