“Tokyo Olympics 900,000 tickets, 940 billion won refund”… Japanese government gave up accepting overseas audiences

The suffering of the ‘2020 Tokyo Olympics’ continues. After delaying the holding of the event for about a year last year due to the Corona 19 crisis, the’Olympic Tourism Special Effect’ is expected to pass as the Japanese government decided to give up the acceptance of overseas audiences.

On the 9th, Kyodo News reported that the Japanese cabinet Yoshihide Suga had solidified its policy not to accept foreign general audiences for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The media cited multiple Japanese government officials, explaining that the Corona 19 mutant virus is being confirmed in each country, and the judgment that the future infection situation could not be predicted and that it could not attract overseas audiences worked.

Accordingly, the Japanese government will limit the audiences of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games to residents of Japan, and the maximum audience will be decided in April based on the Japanese government’s policy of restricting large-scale events in response to Corona 19.

In addition, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee will proceed with a refund procedure for Olympic tickets sold overseas.

On the 10th, the Yomiuri Shimbun pointed out that about 900,000 tickets have already been sold overseas, and that it will cost more than 90 billion yen (about 940 billion won), which is the estimated revenue of the organization committee’s ticket sales.

Tickets for the Tokyo Olympic Games range from 2,500 yen to 300,000 yen depending on the event, and the A-class admission tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies amount to 300,000 yen and 220,000 yen, respectively. According to the policy of the day, the opening and closing ceremonies will also be unable to accommodate overseas audiences.

Earlier on the 8th, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pressed the Japanese government saying that it wants to decide whether to accept overseas spectators before the 25th of this month, when the Olympic torch begins, and the Suga cabinet firmed this policy within a day.

The Japanese government is expected to finalize the policy at a five-party meeting next week (15-21) where representatives from the organizing committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) participate.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held from July 23 to August 8 and August 24 to September 5, respectively, and torch relays are sent on the 25th at “J Village,” a soccer facility located in Fukushima Prefecture. The departure event will be held again. The organizer of the event plans to conduct the torch relay event without spectators.