After being postponed for an entire year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics are, for now, still going ahead. The Games will run this summer, from 23rd July to 8th August, followed by the Paralympics from 25th August to 5th September.

Unfortunately, it has been reported that no overseas fans will be allowed to travel to Japan for this year’s Olympics. Despite the postponement, continued fears over coronavirus and the possibility of more severe strains entering Japan mean foreign fans must stay away.

The iconic lighting of the Olympic torch at ancient Olympia will also go ahead without observers, for the first time in over three decades.

Speaking about the news, recently appointed Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto said: ‘We would really like people from around the world to come to a full stadium, but unless we are prepared to accept them and the medical situation in Japan is perfect, it will cause a great deal of trouble also to visitors from overseas.’

Japan is currently embroiled in a tense grapple with the pandemic. Several Japanese cities, including Tokyo, have been in an official state of emergency since January. Currently, measures such as curfews are in place and officials are worried that the pandemic is still not retreating as fast as hoped.

Consequently, this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics could be extremely empty events, with no overseas and potentially even no domestic spectators.

Japan’s population are currently overwhelmingly opposed to the Games going ahead at all, with polls indicating that around 80% of citizens want the Olympics rescheduled or cancelled. Whether this will change now that no overseas spectators will be permitted remains to be seen.

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