Medical experts in Japan are waiting to find out if a coronavirus vaccine will be developed and if global infections will be under control before deciding whether to proceed with hosting the Olympics Games in Tokyo next year, according to the Associated Press.
"In my view, it would be difficult to hold the Olympics unless effective vaccines are developed," Yoshitake Yokokura, president of Japan Medical Association, said during a video conference.
Yokokura said coronavirus infections would need to be controlled not just locally in Japan, but also around the world before the Olympics could proceed in Japan. He did not, however, say whether he outright opposes holding the games without a vaccine.
Japan and the International Olympic Committee announced the Tokyo Games would be postponed until July 23, 2021, due to the coronavirus crisis. Officials in Japan have been placed under a month-long state of emergency in response to a jump in infections throughout the country.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Japan has reported 13,895 confirmed coronavirus, including 413 deaths.
"I am very pessimistic about holding the Olympics Games next summer unless you hold the Olympic Games in a totally different structure such as no audience, or a very limited participation," Kentaro Iwata, professor of infectious disease at Kobe University, told The Associated Press.
Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister of Japan and current president of the organizing committee, told Nikkan Sports the games would not be delayed anymore if the games cannot go on in 2021.
"This is a gamble for mankind," Mori said. "If the world triumphs over the virus and we can hold the Olympics, then our games will be so many times more valuable than any past Olympics."
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