Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is calling for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or curtailed for two weeks amid pandemic fears
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on Wednesday for sports and cultural events to be scrapped or curtailed for two weeks, as two more coronavirus deaths heightened concerns the contagion might scupper the summer Tokyo Olympics.
By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, Japan had close to 170 cases of infections from the flu-like virus, separate from the 691 reported from a cruise ship quarantined off Tokyo this month. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listens to IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, February 25, 2020. Kimimasa Mayama/Pool via REUTERS
“The IOC is preparing for the Tokyo games as scheduled,” Minister Seiko Hashimoto said in parliament, when asked about Pound’s comment. “We will continue our preparations so that the IOC can make sound decisions.” Separately the national sumo association told Reuters a board meeting on March 1 would discuss whether to proceed with a spring tournament due to start in Osaka on March 8. Japan’s professional soccer league has already called off all domestic games in the first half of March.
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