TOKYO – Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Manabu Sakai today refuted reports about an alleged privately made decision by the cabinet on cancelling the Summer Olympics in Tokyo over the coronavirus pandemic, reported Sputnik news agency.
Yesterday, The Times newspaper reported, citing a source in the Japanese ruling coalition, that the country’s leadership had privately concluded the Summer Olympics in Tokyo must be cancelled and wanted to submit a bid to host the 2032 games.
“I want to strongly reject this as this is not true,” Sakai said, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
The International Olympic Committee said in late March that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed for a year due to the pandemic. Currently, the games are scheduled for July 23 to August 8. – Bernama, January 22, 2021