TOKYO – Japan opened its first mass vaccination centres on Monday in a bid to speed up a cautious Covid-19 inoculation programme with just two months until the virus-postponed Tokyo Olympics.
Tag: Olympics
Competitors need decision on Olympics, says Federer
GENEVA – Roger Federer said Friday that athletes need a firm decision on whether the Tokyo Olympics are going ahead, with the tennis star saying he was in two minds over the Games.
Japan e-commerce CEO calls Olympics ‘suicide mission’
TOKYO – Holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer would be a “suicide mission” as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world, the head of Japan’s e-commerce giant Rakuten has warned.
Virus could force Olympics cancellation, says top Japanese politician
TOKYO – A top member of Japan’s ruling party has warned the Tokyo Olympics could be cancelled if they are “no longer possible” as virus cases spike in the country, media reported Thursday.
Support for Olympics hits new low in Japan: poll
TOKYO – Support for holding the coronavirus-postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer has hit a new low in Japan, a poll found Sunday as the country battles a third wave of infections. Just over 80 percent of those asked by Kyodo…
Japan PM Suga ‘determined’ to hold Olympics despite pandemic
UNITED NATIONS, United States – Japan is “determined” to host the postponed Olympic Games in 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s newly elected prime minister told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. “In the summer of next year,…
Virus vaccine key for Olympics go-ahead in 2021: Tokyo chief
TOKYO – The development of a coronavirus vaccine or treatment will be key to allowing the postponed Tokyo 2020 games to open in a year’s time, organising committee president Yoshiro Mori said Wednesday. Asked what factors will be crucial for…
Only one quarter of Japanese want Olympics next year: poll
Just one in four people in Japan want to see the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Games held next year, with most backing either further delay or a cancellation, a new poll shows.
Olympics official sees ‘problems’ in holding Games in 2021
SYDNEY – A senior Olympics official has warned that holding the postponed Tokyo Games next year faces “real problems”, with even a vaccine unlikely to stave off the threat of the coronavirus. John Coates, the International Olympic Committee’s pointman for…
Athletes Village for Olympics could house virus patients
TOKYO (AP) — The under-construction Athletes Village for the Tokyo Olympics could be used as a temporary hospital for coronavirus patients. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has been talking about the possibility of occupying the massive development on Tokyo Bay, which…
With Olympics on hold, Phelps worries about mental health
Michael Phelps has been open about his mental health struggles, even as he became the most decorated athlete in Olympic history. Now, with the Tokyo Games on hold because of the coronavirus, the retired swimming great worries that some athletes…
Abe says IOC agrees ‘100%’ that Olympics should be postponed
TOKYO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach has agreed “100%” to a proposal of postponing the Tokyo Olympics for about one year until 2021 because of the coronavirus outbreak, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday. Abe said after his…
Tokyo Olympics seem sure to happen — but in 2021, not 2020
TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics are going to happen — but almost surely in 2021 rather than in four months as planned. This became clear after the IOC on Sunday announced it was considering a postponement. Major Olympic nations…
A look back at Olympics that never were: 1916, ’40 and ’44
With more and more calls to postpone the Tokyo Olympics because of the coronavirus outbreak, it’s worth noting that this every-four-years spectacle has been rocked before by traumatic events. Three other times, the games were canceled altogether because of World…
Flame in Japan; How long until news if Olympics will open?
TOKYO (AP/UNB) — The Olympic flame has arrived in Japan from Greece. Next comes the torch relay around the country, which is scheduled to start on Thursday from Fukushima prefecture in northern Japan. Organizers have asked crowds to be restrained,…
Australia team to ‘wait and see’ on Olympics as virus fears
Athletes preparing for the Tokyo Olympics will have to “wait and see” whether the Games go ahead as concerns soar about the coronavirus, the head of Australia’s team said Thursday.
Too early to say whether virus threatens Olympics, WHO says
Despite a virus outbreak spreading from China, a top World Health Organization official said Tuesday it’s much too soon to say whether the Tokyo Olympics are at risk of being cancelled or moved.
No ‘Plan B’ for Olympics; questions over Chinese presence
Tokyo (AP/UNB) — Tokyo Olympic organizers and the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is no “Plan B” for the 2020 Games, which open in just over five months and have been jolted by the outbreak of a virus in…
Olympics Test Event: Ruman Shana to fly for Tokyo Wednesday
Dhaka – Bangladesh’s premier archer Mohammad Ruman Shana will fly for Tokyo early Wednesday to participate in Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event which is scheduled to be held at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo from July 12-18. The German…
First Bangladeshi archer qualifies for Olympics
Dhaka – Mohammad Ruman Shana has become the first Bangladeshi archer to qualify for the Olympic games. He achieved the feat by defeating Van Den Berg Sjef of Netherlands by 6-2 set points in the quarterfinal. But Shana lost to…
IOC bans Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics
Russia has been banned from competing at next year’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee. But Russian athletes who can prove they are clean would be allowed to compete in South Korea under a neutral flag. It…