Key concerns of the Tokyo Olympics

Are spectators allowed?

International spectators will not be allowed into Japan, organisers decided last month. They plan to decide this month on the maximum number of local fans permitted in venues.

Is vaccination required?

No. Organisers say that they are planning health protocols to carry out a safe Games with the assumption athletes can take part even if they have not been inoculated. The International Olympic Committee, however, has strongly encouraged athletes to be vaccinated.

How is the torch relay going?

The torch relay began on March 25 and is an early test of the organisers' ability to stage a large-scale event with stringent Covid-19 countermeasures.

About 10,000 runners will carry the torch across 47 prefectures over a four-month period.

There are no reports so far of infections stemming from the event. Osaka prefecture, however, decided to hold its leg of the relay this week in a park instead of on public roads after a surge of cases prompted it to declare a Covid-19 emergency.

What about test events?

Tokyo still has several test events, which are important dress rehearsals to confirm the Games' operational capabilities at venues, scheduled for this month and next.

Next month will see four such events with athletes from abroad - volleyball friendlies between Japan and China, Olympic diving qualifiers, the Hokkaido Sapporo marathon festival and an athletics event - providing the best opportunities for organisers to test health protocols with arrivals from overseas.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 15, 2021, with the headline Key concerns of the Tokyo Olympics. Subscribe