Tokyo organizers reveal spectator limit for Olympic games 

The organizing committee for Tokyo Olympics 2020 has revealed the spectator limit for the upcoming summer games.

"The spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50% of venue capacity up to a maximum of 10,000 people," organizers said in a statement.

The decision was announced after the so-called Five Party talks. The parties involved in the meeting were The Tokyo Olympics 2020 organizers, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Paralympic Committee, the Japanese government, and the Tokyo Metropolitan government.

The #OlympicTorchRelay continued today through the Miyagi prefecture. The flame paid tribute to the Watari Choritsu Arahama Junior High School, where over 300 students evacuated via the roof during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake 🙏#StrongerTogether | #HopeLightsOurWay pic.twitter.com/qwbwRVX4Ri

— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) June 21, 2021

The meeting comes after some of Japan's top health experts had said that banning spectators was the least risky option for holding the Games. The country’s top medical adviser, Dr. Shigeru Omi, had previously called it “abnormal” to hold the Olympics during the pandemic.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had announced that the government will switch to “quasi-emergency” measures once the state of emergency expires on Sunday. The loose restrictions will remain in place until July 11, just 12 days before the start of the Olympic Games.

Sports fans from abroad have already been banned by the organizing committee.

Japanese population still not entirely convinced with conducting Olympics

While the organizing committee might be gearing up to stage the quadrennial games, there is an air of unease among the Japanese.

An Asahi newspaper poll conducted on June 19 and June 20 of almost 1,500 people showed 62 per cent supported another postponement or cancelation of the games. In the same survey, 83 per cent said they “feel uneasy” that the Olympics might spread the virus. The poll said 53 per cent wanted no fans and 42 per cent said attendance should be limited.

According to the rulebook meant for participating athletes, an athlete can be expelled from the games if they violate requirements such as wearing a mask and avoiding mandatory daily testing. Organizers say more than 80 percent of athletes will be vaccinated and they will be barred from interacting with the Japanese public. The equivalent policies governing the Paralympic Games will be decided by 16 July 2021, a week before the opening of the Olympic Games.

In March, the Indian Olympic Association had said that all the Tokyo Games-bound athletes and officials had received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine. They would get their second dose before their departure from the country for the multi-sporting spectacle.

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