IOC member raises possibility of cancelling Tokyo Olympics

A member of the International Olympic Committee suggested that the Tokyo Olympics, which is scheduled in July, might be cancelled if the coronavirus does not die down.

In his interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, IOC’s longest-serving member Dick Pound said the Summer Olympics might be cancelled if the games cannot go forward as scheduled, adding that the decision should be made by May, two months before the games.

Pound, however, encouraged athletes to keep training, saying, “All indications are at this stage that it will be business as usual.” The IOC will decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympic Games in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

“As I talked with the IOC, Pound’s words do not represent the view of the IOC and were intended to explain that the IOC was preparing for the Olympics as planned,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. “The torch relay will proceed as scheduled and Japan will prepare for the Olympics to the best of its ability, including responses to the coronavirus outbreak.”


Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com