Toshihiro Nikai, the secretary general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has said that Tokyo Olympics could once again be cancelled if the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen.
Nikai, the No. 2 leader of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s ruling party, said the statement in a TV show, which is yet to be aired.
His remarks came after Tokyi on Wednesday began a 100-day countdown until the beginning of the already postponed quadrennial event, with concerns rife that Covid-19 cases in and outside of Tokyo could be set to worsen.
Shigeru Omi, an expert in infectious diseases who heads the government’s Covid-19 sub-committee, told a parliamentary session the previous day that the central government should broaden the areas currently subjected to stricter antiviral measures under a revised law.
Omi said the expansion should be undertaken by the government “in an extremely swift and nimble manner.”
On Monday, Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures were added to a list of regions where tougher virus measures have come into effect under a new law that falls short but is on the brink of declaring a state of emergency.