State of emergency declared in Japan two weeks ahead of Tokyo Olympics

Taking a serious note of the rising number of coronavirus infections in the capital city Tokyo, Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced a state of emergency in the country.

According to the announcement of the Prime Minister, the state of emergency in Japan would come into effect on July 12 (Monday) and last till August 22 (Sunday). This means the forthcoming Olympics, which is scheduled to be held between July 23 and August 8, will be held entirely under emergency measures.

While announcing the state of emergency, Suga said the state of emergency was needed to “prevent the resurgence of the future spread on cases across the country.”

It is to be noted here that fans from abroad were months ago banned from attending the Olympics. But, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and organizers had recently decided to allow venues to be filled to 50 per cent of capacity but crowds not to exceed 10,000.

However, the announcement of the state of emergency in Japan will force them to change their plans again and hold the Tokyo Olympics without any spectators.

Around 11,000 Olympians and 4,400 Paralympians are expected to take part in the Olympics. Besides, tens of thousands of officials, judges, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters, and media are also likely to be part of the mega sporting event.