The Tokyo Olympics’ opening ceremony, which was once delayed, is approaching six months, and the Japanese government, the organizing committee, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) all denied the report of the’Olympic cancellation decision’ that was publicized on the 22nd. They expressed their willingness to enforce the competition against the burning Olympic cancellation. However, even if the Japanese government holds it as a’non-audience contest’, which is considered as the last bastion, it is predicted that it will lose 26 trillion won.
As expected, the Tokyo Olympics will be opening on July 23 this year. In March last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and IOC chairman Thomas Bach decided to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games for one year. However, the spread of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) around the world was still unchanged until the turn of the year, and the current status of corona 19 infection inside Japan was not caught enough to hold the world’s largest international competition. For this reason, the possibility of cancellation is attracting more attention than whether the preparation for the Olympics is cruising.
Crucially, the British newspaper The Times cited an anonymous Japanese passport official saying that “the Japanese government has internally concluded the cancellation of the Olympics this year,” the cancellation theory ignited. With this opportunity, there is a prospect that the Olympic cancellation theory, which has been taboo so far, will come out in a positive light.
First of all, neither the Japanese government nor the IOC is in a position to give up the Olympics easily. Various plans are being sought, such as a non-audience competition and holding in 2032. According to the Mainichi Newspaper on the 23rd, a Japanese government official announced that it is reviewing three options:’no upper limit’, ‘50% reduction’, and’no audience’ for how to accommodate the stadium crowd. It emphasized that the government is moving to host the Olympics.
However, even if this imperfect form is enforced, economic losses are expected to be enormous. According to the Tokyo newspaper, Katsuhiro Miyamoto, an emeritus professor at Kansai University (theoretical economics), announced an estimate that “if the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games are held without spectators, the economic loss will reach about 2.43 trillion yen (25.7 trillion won).” Although the loss is less than canceling, it is highly likely that the drastic prescription of holding without spectators will be an honor with only wounds. According to an estimate released in March last year, the economic loss in case of cancellation was 4,5151 billion yen (about 480 trillion won).
The IOC also joined the move to save the Tokyo Olympics. Reports reported that all athletes competing in the tournament are reviewing the corona 19 vaccination. According to the UK Daily Telegraph, the IOC is working with international projects, the COVAX facility, and the World Health Organization (WHO) for vaccination.
Andy Anderson, chairman of the British Olympic Committee (BOA), said, “Vaccination in small countries and regions is an important task. “We need to make sure that people going to Japan get as many vaccinations as possible.”
Reporter Ji Hye Ji [email protected]
Photo = AFP Yonhap News
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