Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Saturday that all live public viewing events during this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics in the capital will be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Koike said some of the venues planned to be used for the public events will instead be used for COVID-19 vaccinations.
The announcement was made with just about one month to go until the opening of the Tokyo Olympics.
Organizers, government officials and public health experts continue to debate whether spectators should be allowed to attend Olympic events.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has paved the way for the games to have spectators with his government’s decision this week to end the state of emergency on Sunday in the capital.
But the nation’s top COVID-19 adviser, Shigeru Omi, has stressed that fans shouldn’t be allowed to attend.
Banning all spectators is the safest way to host the Tokyo Games, according to a report published Friday by Omi, chair of the central government’s coronavirus subcommittee, and 25 other experts.
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