Tokyo Olympic organizers plan to host 18 test events

18 additional test events with their enormous corresponding costs? You obviously must already swim in trillions after having solved all other problems. Impressive. But it also fits with that supercomputer for some little aerosol calculations, useless space exploration phantasies or throwing money into such excellently profitable areas like the Afghan war zone...lol

Japan’s infection is way too low. Because we are an island we can’t successfully increase our infection rate. To compete with other countries like America, Brazil, India EU etc. we need to import the virus as much as possible and spread it. Otherwise our infection rate will be the lowest and we are just a bunch of losers.

The tests are designed not to fail.

Basically, it will be: pack 40k people for event make sure no one gets tested claim 0 infections success!

Same thing with the baseball games. The government scientists cannot really say what the government does not allow them to say, so it is really just a waste of taxpayer money at this point, but still pales in comparison of what Dentsu etc. will be getting for the Olympics.

So if the test are failures, does that mean canceling the games?

Meant doesn't mean.

Although Japan has handled the pandemic better than most countries, cases have been surging recently with about 2,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 in a country of 125 million.

Stop with the useless comparison and nationalism. If every country out there used as yardstick of how well Japan has handled this pandemic, was testing at the same rate like Japan, they too will be viewed as having handled the pandemic well.

If an athlete from another country were to come to Japan to 'test' Japan's ability to handle COVID-19 and ends up getting the virus and getting it bad, that will essentially knock the athlete out of the Olympics. Especially if the athlete is in a 'test' held in May.

If a Japanese athlete were to get the virus during a 'test' event held in March, will they cancel the rest of the 'tests' or blame the athlete for not being Japanese enough to keep his or her infection secret?

My planning forward does not invole billions of tax payer yen. Bribes, public health concern, cronyism...and flat out self serving lies.

none of the test events will allow fans from abroad, although some events will permit an unspecified number of fans from Japan. " No, we will not have spectators from abroad,” Nakamura said.Several of the events will not even involve athletes, testing “operations” only as a way to cut back on spending.

So in other words it's another made in Japan bs tatemae exercise with a predetermined outcome.

Although Japan has handled the pandemic better than most countries,

For heaven's sake...when will they stop with this bs propaganda line...Japan has done same or worse than it's Asian neighbors, SK ,& Taiwan ,..not to mention the other island countries like NZ and Australia ..and if they tested anywhere near what the rest of developed world " tests , they would be getting 10 times the numbers.

LDP deadwood is still keeping test numbers capped instead of the Abe / Suga promised 60 to 200 000 per day capacity....what happened to this " pledge made months ago ? Guess it's hanging out with the 3rd arrow and the rest.

The keyword here is "planning." I am also planning a lot of things for next year, but none of them will happen.

Making plans happen is what differentiates those who move forward from those who stay in the same place for years.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, who was in Tokyo this month to talk up the games, acknowledged much of the planning hinges around the availability of vaccines and rapid testing.

Bach is either in denial or is ignorant as to how Japan is dealing with the pandemic.

The keyword here is "planning." I am also planning a lot of things for next year, but none of them will happen.

a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May.

“No, we will not have spectators from abroad,” Nakamura said.

If foreign spectators are not welcome in six months' time, does that mean foreign tourists aren't going to be either? Until recently, there were thirty odd million of them and far more businesses depend on their spending than depend on the Olympics. If the government has no intention of allowing foreign tourists before the Olympics, those businesses deserve to be told. The way things stand, it looks like we are getting a backdoor opening of the border for the Olympics and cheap Asian labor, but to hell with everyone else.

mu-da Today  09:07 am JST

If denial would be an Olympic sport the Japanese would win all medals.

love it!!!!!! （⌒▽⌒）

If denial would be an Olympic sport the Japanese would win all medals.

I hope the plan includes crisis management and response; probably not. So that means, welcome to the mink farm kiddies...

Good to see "Maximum alert" involves 18 pre Olympic events? What are they thinking? Athletes preparation is in mess, they just won't let the personal cash cow go.

Tokyo says it is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a government audit last year said it was probably twice that much.

So an official statement by the Tokyo government says it is speding $12.6 billion but an official government audit says it is twice that. Sounds as transparent and above board as everything else associated with these games.

2021 Olympics is such a bad idea.

Good luck.

it's not worth a life