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Fukushima, in reversal, bars spectators from Olympic events

Japan's Fukushima prefecture will bar spectators from the Olympic events it hosts this summer due to rising COVID-19 infections, its governor said on Saturday, reversing a position announced two days earlier by organisers.

Organisers on Thursday said there would be no spectators in host city Tokyo as a resurgent coronavirus forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in the capital that will run throughout the Games, which were already postponed due to the pandemic.

But they said some spectators would be allowed in Fukushima and several other prefectures outside the capital. On Friday Olympics organisers said soccer matches in Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido would be held without spectators.

Fukushima in northern Japan, hosting seven softball and baseball games, asked Olympics organisers to ban spectators and the request was accepted, Governor Masao Uchibori told a news conference on Saturday.

The Olympics had been seen as an opportunity for Japan to shine on a global stage after a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster - which destroyed a plant in Fukushima - a decade ago. The Games, postponed last year, have also been hit by massive budget overruns.

Date:July 10,2021

News source:Reuters

Link to this article:https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/fukushima-reversal-bars-spectators-olympic-events-2021-07-10/

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These are going to be the most soulless olympics ever. And sadly I'll have to pin the blame in Japan as well. While many european countries, including England, have vaccinated most of their population, Japan hasn't even reached 20%. I expected much, much more for a country known for their organization, but I guess this is what happens when you leave the same bunch of old farts in charge of your country for too long. Pretty sure the UK and France would had avoided this catastrophe to be honest.

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1 hour ago, Ikarus360 said:

These are going to be the most soulless olympics ever. And sadly I'll have to pin the blame in Japan as well. While many european countries, including England, have vaccinated most of their population, Japan hasn't even reached 20%. I expected much, much more for a country known for their organization, but I guess this is what happens when you leave the same bunch of old farts in charge of your country for too long. Pretty sure the UK and France would had avoided this catastrophe to be honest.

I agree.  Would have thought Japan would be a good country to make their way through this pandemic.  I guess maybe not.  I really hope the epilogue on all this is to shine a light on how poorly Japan handled everything rather than to pin all the blame on the IOC and the Olympics as if they caused this situation.

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37 minutes ago, Quaker2001 said:

I really hope the epilogue on all this is to shine a light on how poorly Japan handled everything rather than to pin all the blame on the IOC and the Olympics as if they caused this situation.

I think Vietnam too with the SEA games

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7 hours ago, Ikarus360 said:

These are going to be the most soulless olympics ever. And sadly I'll have to pin the blame in Japan as well. While many european countries, including England, have vaccinated most of their population, Japan hasn't even reached 20%. I expected much, much more for a country known for their organization, but I guess this is what happens when you leave the same bunch of old farts in charge of your country for too long. Pretty sure the UK and France would had avoided this catastrophe to be honest.

Japan has good sentiment and PR banked in the west, so their pandemic handling might just barely break through, but it's pretty commonly known about their vaccination reach. This will certainly be an interesting event. And I'm wondering what the athletic demonstration will look like, will we see records fall? I'm guessing that it will be pretty lackluster, but it might be incredible. 

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On 7/8/2021 at 11:00 AM, baron-pierreIV said:

That's why they have locked in the next THREE Summer host cities in place.  The IOC isn't really a "dumb," clueless entity it appears to be on the surface.  

Bach and Coates (remember when Coates went to Calgary and tried to pitch to the local population that the best part was the games wouldn't cost anything?) are clueless when it comes to the WOGs which are dying on the vine yet they continue to say there's no urgency in finding a 2030 host when the only viable option is Salt Lake City which has been well documented as preferring the 2034 WOGs. Maybe they are waiting to see how serious Vancouver's intentions are? 

The Sapporo bid is dead on arrival and I don't see any serious candidates from western Europe jumping into the race.

Maybe they think they could always go to Almaty.

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The thing is, many on this site seem to be in the land of sunshine, rainbows, and lollipops regarding the Olympics.

The real situation is, why should a place who invested billions in having an Olympics not be allowed to celebrate it? Yet, the IOC is forcing Japan to go through something no one wants anymore. This is a once in a century situation we find ourselves in, and it doesn't happen everyday. I suggested that the Olympics be moved to next year and was laughed at, when really it would have been advantageous to China as well. Making Beijing happen in 2024 would allow some of the negativity about China to blow over. But no, I was instead yelled at about the meaningless British Empire games of 2022.

Quaker2001 reinforces that negative stereotype about Americans not giving a crap about anything outside its borders. I hate to do this but its true in this regard, just because you got your vaccine months ago because Biden locked down access to the vaccine, doesn't mean the rest of the world got swift access to said vaccine whatsoever. Perhaps Quebec should have shut off your power because of refusal to distribute orders of vaccine? This stranglehold was not removed into Canada until May 1 which at that point, vaccination rate climbed dramatically in Canada.

 

The fact that much of the world has been locked down and the US has generally had the laissez-faire approach during the pandemic really only means one thing in the competition. Complete American domination at the Olympics like we never have seen before. A public pool has not been open in Toronto for the entire length of this pandemic for example so many athletes wouldn't have access to training for example.

Remember Quaker, do we need a trip down memory lane, Beijing won 2022 against the mighty Almaty. Did you honestly know the capital of Kazakhstan prior to the bid? Nobody wanted the 2024 Olympics except Paris and LA, so the double bid was awarded because of the albatross hosting the Olympics is nowadays. IOC refuses to show any compassion but rather must bow down to pleasing NBC at all costs, may I remind you in how NBC has made bad decision after bad decision regarding the NHL, thankfully they no longer have NHL.

Speaking of NBC, how many of their posse will be allowed into Japan, I suspect possibly over a thousand at the very least.

Japan can easily just close its border now and stick it to the IOC, no athletes, no media, no games.

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7 hours ago, Palette86 said:

During a meeting with Hashimoto yesterday,president Bach mistakenly called us Chinese.:wacko:

Even though he's staying in Tokyo,he obviously set his eyes on Beijing 2022!!:lol:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/olympics-chief-refers-to-people-of-japan-as-chinese

That's gonna help a lot, considering how many japanese are totally not resentful toward China for this mess and for many other **** they've been doing for years.

Lord Killanin must be sighing in relief in the other world knowing he's no longer the worst IOC president.

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4 hours ago, Quaker2001 said:

There are some of them who probably seriously would love for COVID to be a disaster just to point fingers and blame the IOC.  Rather than rooting for a safe games.

I don't think it's crazy or out there to think that the IOC is woefully corrupt organization, yet believe the olympic games themselves are something that is fascinating, attractive, and enjoyable to view or support. It's not black and white, the IOC is garbage, the events themselves are pretty cool. Wanting the IOC to not be terrible, at least for me personally doesn't change my feelings for watching pretty ceremonies and experiencing vicarious athletic achievements of Team USA participants. 

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1 hour ago, GoNutz said:

I don't think it's crazy or out there to think that the IOC is woefully corrupt organization, yet believe the olympic games themselves are something that is fascinating, attractive, and enjoyable to view or support. It's not black and white, the IOC is garbage, the events themselves are pretty cool. Wanting the IOC to not be terrible, at least for me personally doesn't change my feelings for watching pretty ceremonies and experiencing vicarious athletic achievements of Team USA participants. 

Yeah, we judge countries just because someone from one country can swim across a pool quicker than someone from another country. Hatred between nations will be tolerated during Olympic periods all for a medal table that 99.9% of the population won't remember after the closing ceremonies.

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2 hours ago, Ikarus360 said:

That's gonna help a lot, considering how many japanese are totally not resentful toward China for this mess and for many other **** they've been doing for years.

Lord Killanin must be sighing in relief in the other world knowing he's no longer the worst IOC president.

I heard in Japan that if you are opposed to the current government, you are considered "Anti-Japanese".

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And so it begins. I am fairly certain it won't be the last one either.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1110197/tokyo-2020-positive-test-covid19

China is already calling Japan's Covid-19 measures insufficient. Sounds like foreshadowing of tighter restrictions for Beijing next year. I'd even go as far as to say China has already told the IOC their "playbooks" for Tokyo will be unacceptable in Beijing.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1110064/china-covid19-concerns-tokyo-2020-hotel

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10 minutes ago, stryker said:

And so it begins. I am fairly certain it won't be the last one either.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1110197/tokyo-2020-positive-test-covid19

China is already calling Japan's Covid-19 measures insufficient. Sounds like foreshadowing of tighter restrictions for Beijing next year. I'd even go as far as to say China has already told the IOC their "playbooks" for Tokyo will be unacceptable in Beijing.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1110064/china-covid19-concerns-tokyo-2020-hotel

Take a look at Euro 2020 too.

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IOC's Bach asked Japan PM to allow fans at Olympics if COVID state improves

International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has asked Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to consider allowing spectators into venues for the Tokyo Games if the coronavirus situation improves, a government official familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Amid negative sentiment around the Olympics before they begin next week, Bach made the request to Suga during their meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His request was made just a week after the IOC, the Japanese government and other organizers made an unprecedented decision to stage the Olympics without spectators at almost all venues due to surging COVID-19 infections.

Tokyo, which was placed under a state of emergency earlier this week, reported 1,308 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, topping 1,000 for the second day in a row and the highest since Jan. 21.

Date:July 16,2021

News source:Kyodo News

Link to this article:https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/07/04c1f6be2d04-breaking-news-under-1000-athletes-excepted-might-attend-olympics-opening-event.html

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