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Japan along with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has received a lot of criticism for deciding to proceed with the Tokyo Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics was initially scheduled to take place in 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The IOC and Japan decided that it was safe enough to proceed with the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 even though multiple experts disagreed with that decision. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is now set to take place from 23 July to 08 August.
Health experts questioned the logic of holding a massive global event like the Olympics when COVID-19 was still not under control.
Japan kept its fingers crossed for the last couple of months hoping the COVID-19 vaccine rollout would provide a solution and help the Olympic Games to go off smoothly.
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However, with COVID-19 still proving to be a global problem in 2021, Japan has now announced that it will not allow any international tourists into the country to attend the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan said that it was too risky to allow tourists from all over the world to fly in as that would significantly increase the chances of COVID-19 cases increasing and spreading in Japan.
The decision to not allow international travellers for the 2020 Olympics will come as a big blow. The Olympics takes place once in four years and all of the participating athletes would have been keen to have their family and friends show up from around the world and support them in their quest for Olympic gold.
The IOC was informed of this decision and went on to make a request to the government for permission to allow international visitors who had ties to sponsors to show up for the Olympics. Japan will discuss this request before making a final decision.
Organizers are now also making plans to limit the number of local visitors in order to enforce social distancing guidelines and ensure there is no breakout of COVID-19 during the Olympics.
Gymnastic Qualifiers In Japan Cancelled
The All-Around World Cup for gymnastics was scheduled to start on May 4 and this event would serve as a qualifying event for the 2020 Olympics.
A number of international gymnasts were expected to be a part of this event. However, the Japan Gymnastics Association decided to cancel the event due to COVID-19 concerns from international travellers.
