The state of emergency, the fourth imposed in the capital, will start July 12 and run through Aug. 22, with Suga asking bars and restaurants not to serve alcohol during that period — although the city’s streets are likely to remain packed during the daytime, as they have been during previous states of emergency this year.
Olympic organizers, working closely with the government, had announced two weeks ago that they would allow some domestic spectators to attend events at the Games. They capped attendance at 10,000 or 50 percent of a venue’s capacity but warned at the time that they might change course if infections rose again and a new state of emergency was declared.
In remarks before Thursday evening’s meeting, Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, pointed out that extensive precautions had already been taken to allow some spectators to attend events without compromising public safety, while organizers had also studied sports events around the world that have allowed fans to attend.
“On the other hand, from the situation of the state of emergency, we need to issue a message which is strong and easy to understand from the point of view of preventing further spread,” she said. “It’s going to be a very difficult decision.”
The government’s own scientific advisers warned last month that allowing even limited numbers of fans would raise risks of increased rates of coronavirus infections. Public opposition to proceeding with the Games had waned in recent weeks, but most people still believed the Games should be canceled, postponed or go ahead without spectators, surveys showed.
The rate of new coronavirus infections in Japan, at fewer than 2,000 new cases a day and 800,000 in all, is a fraction of the rate in Britain, which had 32,000 new cases on Wednesday but is hosting the final of the Euro 2020 soccer tournament on Sunday in what will be a packed Wembley Stadium.
The fact that most people in Japan have not been vaccinated means the infections here are proportionately more dangerous, and the daily death toll in Japan, averaging around 20 a day over the past week, is roughly comparable to Britain’s.
The government here was slow to get its covid vaccination program underway. The pace of inoculations has picked up significantly in recent weeks, with 52.6 million doses now administered, enough to have fully vaccinated around 20 percent of the population, but still low compared to many rich nations.
Japanese Olympics sponsors are canceling or scaling back booths and promotional events tied to the Games, frustrated by “very last minute” decisions by organizers and delays in deciding on the policy toward spectators, sources told the Reuters news agency.
Some 60 Japanese companies paid a record of more than $3 billion for sponsorship rights and then another $200 million to extend their contracts after the Games were delayed. But they have seen any potential benefits gradually eroded by the bans on attendance, a glum mood and bad vibes surrounding the Games.
It is already gearing up to be a distinctly joyless event for the Japanese people, with spectators told not to shout or cheer, to wear masks, to go straight home after events without even pausing to chat outside venues, and with most bars and restaurants closed in the evening anyway. In the end, most fans will have to be satisfied with watching it on television.
Organizers also announced this week that spectators have even been told to stay away from the marathon and road walking events, which are due to take place on the northern island of Hokkaido, and they have also moved the torch relay off public roads when it reaches Tokyo on Friday. Instead, a series of torch-lighting ceremonies will be held — without spectators.
Shigeru Omi, the government’s top health adviser, reiterated his concerns to a parliamentary health committee this week.
“We are asking many people to take steps to prevent further spread of the infection,” he said. “Images of spectators would be sending out a contradictory message.”
Whatever the final decision on spectators, Tokyo 2020, as the postponed event is still being branded, is largely going to be a made-for-TV affair, with even its staging in the intense heat and humidity of the Tokyo summer driven by a desire to maximize viewers and advertising revenue in the United States.
Organizers had sold around 4.45 million tickets domestically and 600,000 to overseas fans before the Games were postponed last April. They later received around 810,000 requests for domestic refunds due to the pandemic.
Japan has been desperate to show the world it could proceed with a successful Olympics despite the pandemic, but the specter of empty venues would surely cast a shadow over what should have been a celebration, not just for competitors but also for the Japanese people.
The issue also highlights the controversial decision to postpone the Games for only one year rather than two, a decision driven by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who gambled that the pandemic would have abated and he would still be around to preside over celebrations this year.
Abe stepped down due to ill-health last August. In a magazine interview released this week, he slammed critics who have raised concerns about holding the Games this year, calling them “anti-Japan.”
Julia Mio Inuma contributed to this report.
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