Women walk by a "no trespassing" sign at a park with the Olympic rings floating in the background in Odaiba, Tokyo. Photo: AP/Eugene Hoshiko
tokyo 2020 olympics

Olympic organizers to meet Saturday to decide on overseas spectators

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Japan recorded 1,517 cases yesterday.

Australia recorded 9, for a total of 149 active cases, all returnees from overseas.

I doubt a bunch of Aussies would be bringing the virus with them.

A real shame about no foreign spectators, even those who have been vaccinated will be less of a risk than the local populace.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Usual fear mongering, but no science to show how foreigners lead to spread of virus.

Meanwhile, baseball in the U.S. is set to begin with filled stadiums in some places.

Seems silly to have Olympics without international fans.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I just want to get in to see my fiance. My country has a lower positive rate than Japan, an incredibly high vaccination rate, and yet Japan insists on presenting itself as a beacon of health and safety, while the outside world is dirty and undisciplined.

So why won't they offer vaccine passports? Because it would force the j-gov to show they aren't quite the beacon of covid control they like to present. Hell, they're the worst in Asia.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

LET US IN! LET US IN!!!

...I don't care about the Olympics, I just wanna take my kid to visit his grandparents and go out and get wicked hammered with my brother-in-law.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

what a mess, should have just cancelled last year.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

just cancel all olympics....at least for one year or so...

They can't Postpone it for another year so if they stop it this year, it'll have to be cancelled until 2032 and I don't think Japan wants that.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@wanderlust

Let's see how many exceptions are permitted, both for overseas and domestic spectators.

Exactly. My guess is that Olympics will only be for the global elite to attend and watch. The image I have is when Dr. Fauci when to a MLB game and threw out the first pitch. Fauci, his wife, and friend had the entire stadium to themselves while they watched the baseball game. They were not social distancing, the friend was not from same household, and at times Fauci was caught not wearing a mask. Global elite governing class with their "Only for thee, not for me" governing policies.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

QUESTION: Do we want a SUPER SPREADER EVENT?

Do we want to infect Japan or the Entire Planet?
1 ( +1 / -0 )

If they could just figure out a way to get the foreigners to send money without actually showing up and clogging up the place with their loud talking and not standing in line properly.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Flip for it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I'm surprised they aren't insisting on vaccine evidence for any inbound foreigners

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Thanks Tom

No Males allowed sign..or at least don’t IDENTIFY as one, right ?

I didn’t realize Tokyo had been contaminated that way TOO.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What .,??? there will be Olympics???

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Japan has been spared the deaths that other countries have seen. There have been no true "lockdowns". Bringing in the foreigners from around the world will just spread different strains of the virus all around Japan. I am not saying Japan has beat the virus, but deaths are quite low compared to other countries, and I honestly do not know why. I don't always care about the number infected because we all know how the testing goes. I look at the number of deaths. If the number of deaths are "true" then in comparison Japan is doing good. I would hate for them to let people in, and then we see a H U G E spike in deaths..The Gov't needs to learn to put the PEOPLE first, not put their own interests first!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

We already know they'll allow Japanese back in, and try to find ways to ban permanent (foreign) residents

Probably right. But with this pandemic, Japan has got what many wanted. Fewer foriegners setting up shop, and letting the world and it's problems just stay away from them. Many Japanese people seem happy and content when they are insular.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Covid bomb is blasted .

But Japan keep up still safer place in ripple extent like whatsoever .

Their ripples can’t get a giant tsunami storm easily .

If no the virus issues , talking point could be the focus on terror of the Olympic Games for the bit committee!!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

How about 80% of Japanese opinions?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The organizers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will hold an online meeting ......

This sentence ALONE shows that the Olympics can't happen. They can't even have in person meetings. Enough of the charades already.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

We already know they'll allow Japanese back in, and try to find ways to ban permanent (foreign) residents

-1 ( +5 / -6 )

That sign is sexist.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I will bet everybody $5.00 that they re-open Japan for the Olympics, excluding certain countries, and all will be required to wear masks and be "as clean as possible." Japan didn't build, prepare and spend all of that money for nothing. Money wins, in the end. Corona will probably be here forever, as-is the flu. There really is nothing we can do to totally wipe this thing out. The only thing we can do, as we all have for centuries, is adapt.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Olympics without a non-Japanese audience would be a gift to the organizers, at least those here. Corporate J would get to boost the 'cool Japan' image by showing off how great the country is in the media in a controlled manner rather than have crowds of people from overseas make up their own minds. Small businesses will suffer but won't have to deal with those pesky foreign-speaking tourists.

And yes, having people from all over the world concentrate in one place is a recipe for disaster, but I don't think it matters that much if those people are sportspeople, spectators or other guests.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

There has been no reporting on the upcoming Olympics in my country that I have seen. Sadly this will not be anywhere near the huge world event it normally is. Good luck in any case and I hope all the locals get a great deal of enjoyment from the success of Japanese athletes and be proud when the TV stations of the world tune in to showcase Japan, its culture and people.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

I seem to remember reading on this very site only last week that the decision had already been made and there would be no foreign fans.

14 ( +14 / -0 )

If they want spectators they will have to get the government to cut its new restrictions on the number of people they are allowing to fly in to the country daily/ Or perhaps spectators will be excluded from the limits just as they and the athletes are going to be free of any quarantine arrangements. I wonder if they will be free of the restrictions to eat out after 8PM, sorry it is 9 PM from Sunday. And what about the restrictions on inbound travellers using public transport. Will they be free from that as well! Prospective spectators are not going to be keen on spending hundreds of dollars on taxis to get around Tokyo I would imagine.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Without overseas spectators it'll be a hollow event, carried out purely to save face. The Japanese public don't want the games... so what's the point?

5 ( +8 / -3 )

If foreign visitors can bring the virus, returning Japanese citizens can also bring the virus. Or returning permanent residents. So either you allow foreign visitors to come, or you should completely close the country and don't let anyone in, be it foreigners, or even Japanese citizens. Will the later cause uproar. Well, what do you think.

Just one person on the airplane can infect everyone.

Stop bashing the horse, it's already dead. It cannot be deader. It'll just stink more and more.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

 they have been struggling with tepid public support

Read strong public oppositon. Viruses don't distinguish between residents and non-residents, Japanese and non-Japanese, athletes and spectators, for or against, what your politics are. Objectively, having 15,000 athletes and thousands of support staff and media coming in from all over the world to the same spaces is a superspreader event that puts all of us, and all of them at unneccessary risk, and multiplies the chances of generating new variants. There is no exit strategy for the SoE, they are only controlling testing and reporting, not the spread of the virus. That is what the public think, and why the overwhelming majority are against this corrupt porkfest going ahead.

13 ( +14 / -1 )

Olympic organizers to meet Saturday on fate of overseas spectators

Please have mercy and spare them the horrible fate of attending the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

In theory foreign spectators would increase the risk of another wave.

In reality the risk is out there already in any major city of Japan, with the continued “no testing, no tracing” policy in the name of the unwanted Olympic games.

But lets keep this theatre going on, its been one year like this already.

Want to pretend to really care about “the people”? Cancel the games altogether as “the people” want, and cut the BS.

16 ( +18 / -2 )

Let's see how many exceptions are permitted, both for overseas and domestic spectators.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

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