The Olympic Games are going to start on July 23 in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. But the increasing cases of the Covid-19 in Tokyo have caused another setback for the Japanese government and the organizers of the Olympic Games. In light of rising Covid-19 cases, a meeting with experts was called in which government officials proposed to impose a state of emergency in Japan from next Monday till August 22. 

The Olympic Games were already postponed for a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The government of Japan can take more strict decisions because of the Olympic Games. Foreign spectators will not be allowed in the field during the games. 

Earlier, the possibility of allowing the local people to visit and watch the Olympic Games was being explored. But the 6-week state of emergency will also eliminate the possibility of allowing local visitors. The decision regarding the entry of the spectators will be taken on Friday. On Friday, local organizers will meet the International Olympic Committee and other representatives.

No reduction in Covid-19 cases

Currently, Tokyo is operating under slightly less strict protocol. But even reducing the opening hours of bars and restaurants has not stopped the Covid-19 infection. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga may declare a medical emergency on Thursday evening. IOC President Thomas Bach will reach Tokyo on Thursday. But he will be quarantined at the Five Star Hotel in Tokyo for 3 days. 

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also held a meeting with his key ministers regarding the Covid-19 measures. Suga said that he would do everything possible to prevent cases from escalating in Tokyo. He said he would make a decision on Thursday on restoring the state of emergency in Tokyo.

This will be the fourth emergency in Japan since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. There have been 920 new cases in Tokyo on Wednesday, compared to 714 last week. This is a new record of cases detected in a day after the month of May.

 

Madari Pillyalil Jabir, better known as M.P. Jabir of Kerala has become the first Indian hurdler to qualify for Olympics in 33 years for the 400m hurdles event. Jabir has won a bronze medal previously at the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships in 400 m hurdles with a timing of 50.22 seconds. 

His qualification was confirmed after he won a gold medal at the recently concluded Iter-state Athletics Championships in Patiala. Jabir is part of the Indian navy and is posted in Kochi. The 25-year old is currently ranked 34 in world athletics. Jabir is the first male to qualify for the 400m hurdles in 57 years. The last person to qualify for the event was PT Usha during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. PT Usha also belongs to the same state that Jabir comes from, i.e. Kerala. 

In the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Jabir set his personal best timing of 49.13 to win bronze and achieved the qualification standard for the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

Jabir started taking keen interest in sprinting when he was in 11th grade and then he mastered himself in the 400m events. It will be interesting to see the Keralite competing in his first-ever Olympics. 

Tokyo Olympic 2020: The Olympic Games are going to be held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, from July 23. There are also many questions regarding the conduct of the Olympic Games amidst Covid-19 pandemic. Considering the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Olympic torch relay in public places in Tokyo has been scraped.

In the last few days, there has been a huge increase in the Covid-19 cases in Tokyo. To prevent the Olympic Games from being affected by the Covid-19, the International Olympic Committee announced to scrap the Olympic torch relay in public places. 

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The Japanese government has also informed about the cancelation of the Olympic torch relay in popular public sites. The Japanese government has said that now all the events related to the Olympic torch relay will be organised in Tokyo private flame-lighting ceremony. This event will start from Friday this week. People of Japan and spectators will be able to watch the telecast of this program online. 

The Olympic torch relay has been halted before

This is not the first time that the Olympic torch relay has been affected due to Covid-19. The nationwide Olympic torch relay was disrupted back in March this year. The Olympic torch relay was forced off public roads earlier in March 2021. 

Some decisions have not yet been taken regarding the conduct of the Tokyo Olympics. It is not yet decided whether spectators will be allowed in the stands during the Olympic Games. This year the Olympic Games are likely to be held without spectators. A ban on the entry of foreign spectators was issued even before the announcement of the Olympic Games.

However, the organisers of the Olympic Games are keeping an eye on the whole situation regarding the Covid-19. If the cases of Covid-19 decline in the next few days then local spectators can be allowed to visit the stands while following Covid-19 protocols.

Tokyo: A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said.

Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs, said Shizuoka prefecture spokesman Takamichi Sugiyama.

Public broadcaster NHK gave the number of missing people at 20, but Sugiyama said the prefecture confirmed at least 19, although he said the number may grow.

Torrential rains have slammed parts of Japan starting earlier this week. Experts said dirt had been loosened, increasing landslide risks in a country filled with valleys and mountains.

Sugiyama said it had been raining hard in the area all morning. Self-defense forces will join firefighters and police in the rescue operation, he added. Evacuation warnings were issued for a widespread area.

The landslides appeared to have struck multiple times, about as fast as a car. Footage showed a powerful, black mudslide slide down a mountainside, knocking down and crushing houses and sweeping away cars in its way. Helpless neighbours watched in horror, some recording on their phones.

NHK TV footage showed a part of a bridge had collapsed.

Atami is a quaint seaside resort area in Shizuoka prefecture, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

The area that was hit by the mudslide, Izusan, includes hot springs, residential areas, shopping streets and a famous shrine. 

Tokyo Olympics organising committee on Monday confirmed that the spectator limit for the Games has been set at 50 percent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people.

The decision on the Paralympic Games will be made by July 16. Residents of Japan will be allowed to attend the Games this summer.

“During a meeting held between the five parties earlier today, the IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Government of Japan agreed for the spectator limit for the Olympic Games to be set at “50 percent of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people” at all venues, taking into consideration the government’s restrictions on public events,” the organising committee said in an official statement.

The spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50% of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10,000 people at all venues.

For more information on what was agreed upon at today’s five-party meeting: https://t.co/On7tfGKidm

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) June 21, 2021

The IOC and IPC were informed of the policies the Japanese parties decided on and supported the measures. The current competition schedule remains unchanged. In principle, spectators will be admitted to events subject to the above limits.

Students in the schools’ spectator programme and their supervisors will not be considered in these limits and will be treated separately, as they are not spectators.

In the event that a state of emergency or other priority measures aimed at preventing infection are implemented at any time after July 12, restrictions on the number of spectators at the Games, including non-spectator competitions, will be based on the content of the state of emergency or other relevant measures in force at that time.

In the event of any rapid change in infection status and in the capacity of the medical care system, a five-party meeting will be held promptly to consider further measures.

The Japanese parties have formulated guidelines for spectators aimed at ensuring safe and secure environments. These stipulate that masks should be worn in venues at all times; speaking in a loud voice or shouting will be prohibited; congestion should be avoided by means of appropriate announcements; and visitors should leave venues in a staggered manner.

Given the COVID-19 situation, the Japanese parties intend to look into either cancelling or reducing the scale of any live sites and public viewing events to minimise the movement of people, review any other Games-related events, and establish new safe and secure ways of cheering and supporting the athletes.

A framework will be implemented to keep monitoring the status of infections and medical care using expert advice. The equivalent policies governing the Paralympic Games will be decided by July 16, a week before the opening of the Olympic Games.

In order to conduct safe and secure Games for the whole of Japan, there will be strong coordination and cooperation with local governments to ensure the above guidelines are followed.

The situation will be monitored in Japan and abroad, including the status of the different variants of the coronavirus, and all necessary action will be taken promptly. Vaccination of those involved with the Games will continue, and the vaccination status will be further updated.

Tokyo: The ongoing pandemic has changed the way we live and travel. Now, Japan will join the list of countries to issue vaccine passports allowing people to travel abroad from next month. On Thursday, Japan confirmed that Japanese travellers will get a vaccine passport from next month as the governments around the world are trying to find ways to relaunch tourism and business trips.

“Preparing to issue a certificate of vaccination for those who need one… when they visit foreign countries. The certificate will be paper-based,” AFP News Agency reported quoting top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato.

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Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, PM Yoshihide Suga has announced that the virus emergency in the capital city will end on June 20.

What is a vaccine passport?

A vaccine passport is an e-certificate that stores and records jabs and Covid-19 test status. It can be kept in a smartphone app or in other digital formats. Its contents can be flashed at security checkpoints when people travel across borders.

How is Japan expected to roll out vaccine passports?

The certificate will be paper-based rather than digital and will be issued by local governments sometime next month. Corporates have been considering a vaccine document that would help revive business travel even as Japan’s vaccination drive was slow comparatively but picked up pace in recent weeks.

At present over six percent of Japan’s population is fully vaccinated, as per AFP. Japan has closed its border to foreign arrivals, though the rules will be relaxed for the Olympic Games, which open in Tokyo on July 23.

Which countries have allowed vaccine passport?

The European Union is already aiming for a digital vaccine passport this summer in order to kickstart tourism industry, and some EU countries plan to introduce certificates at the national level.

Several countries have already embraced the concept of a vaccine passport for their citizens, including China and Denmark. Similarly, others have welcomed vaccinated travelers from across the globe including Iceland and Greece.

Tokyo: The Japanese government will set up a no-fly zone over Olympic venues from July 21 to September 5 as part of anti-terrorism measures during the summer games in Tokyo, the transport ministry said on Thursday (May 6).

According to the ministry, the no-fly zone will be set up two hours before the start of the competition or ceremony and lifted an hour after.

The zone will cover about a 3-kilometer (1.8 miles) radius from venues during competitions and extended to a 46-kilometer radius from the National Stadium during ceremonies.

Similar measures will also be applied to the Olympic events, such as marathons, held outside of Tokyo.

However, departing or arriving flights at the Tokyo International Airport will not be affected.

Earlier this month, Japanese media reported that starting July 13, ships will be advised to avoid six areas in the Tokyo Port close to coastal territories where the athletes` village, the beach volleyball competition site, and other Olympics facilities are located.

According to the Japan Coast Guard, such safety measures are aimed at preventing terrorist attacks during the games.

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were initially scheduled for 2020 but were postponed in the spring of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The games are to take place this summer, from July 23 until August 8. Because of COVID-19, the Japanese government has decided to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics without foreign spectators.

According to the organizers of the games, all Olympic and Paralympic participants will be required to pass two COVID-19 tests before departure to Japan and undergo daily testing for the first three days after arrival. 

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