TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government will decide whether to let overseas spectators attend the Summer Olympics in Tokyo by the end of March, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Wednesday.
Her comments were echoed by the head of the organising committee for the Games, Seiko Hashimoto, who said she would like to reach the decision by March 25.
Polls show most Japanese oppose holding the Games during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mainichi newspaper earlier reported that the government was planning to ban overseas spectators due to worries they would spread the coronavirus, citing multiple unnamed sources.
“On the matter of overseas spectators … I personally want to have it decided by the 25th of this month, when the Olympic torch relay will be kicked off,” Hashimoto told reporters after a virtual meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach and others.
“It is true that the situation is tough both in and outside Japan … It would not be good if their entry stirred worry among the Japanese people
