Japan mulls opening ceremony for VIPs only

Japan is looking to bar all but VIP spectators for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, a local newspaper reported ahead of an expected meeting of Games officials mulling fresh restrictions as COVID-19 infections rise.

The Asahi Shimbun said on Tuesday that the government is "arranging for the opening ceremony to be held with only a reduced number of VIP spectators", adding that events at large venues and those staged after 9 pm would be held without spectators.

Citing unidentified sources, the report also said the number of VIPs, such as sponsors' guests and diplomats, at the opening ceremony will be reduced sharply from an initial estimate of 10,000.

In line with the report, local organizers pushed back the release of the results of a Games ticket lottery, from Tuesday to Saturday, citing a surge of coronavirus infections in the capital.

Delayed by a year due to the coronavirus, the Games are set to open on July 23 amid concerns that they could become a superspreader event with tens of thousands converging on a country that has only 13.8 percent of its population fully vaccinated.

Organizers had already banned overseas spectators and set a limit on domestic ones at 10,000 at each venue.

However, as infections rise in Tokyo, the Japanese government, as early as Thursday, is likely to extend a state of quasi-emergency in the capital and three nearby prefectures beyond an original end date of July 11.

Possible revisions

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach will arrive in Japan on Thursday for five-way talks with local organizers. Local media report that a revised decision on spectator limits will be announced after the meeting.

On Tuesday, local authorities confirmed that two workers at the Olympic Village have been infected with COVID-19.

On Saturday, Tokyo reported 716 cases, the highest number in five weeks. Among them was a Serbian athlete who tested positive for the coronavirus at the airport.