Top Japanese officials said yesterday they did not expect a US advisory against travel to Japan due to coronavirus concerns to affect the Tokyo Olympics – less than two months away – and that US support for the Games was unchanged.
The US State Department’s “Do Not Travel” advisory and guidance for Japan on Monday did not mention the Olympics specifically but warned against visiting the country now.
“At present, we can see no particular impact,” Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa told a news conference. She noted that the advisory did not ban essential travel and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee had said planned mitigation practices would allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes.
Japanese and Olympic officials have pledged the Games will go ahead as planned on July 23 after being postponed in 2020, even as surveys show a majority of Japanese want the Games cancelled or postponed due to worries over coronavirus.
An online “Stop Tokyo Olympics” campaign had collected 387,000 signatures as of Tuesday, organisers said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Japan was in close contact with the US government.
“There is absolutely no change in the United States’ support for Japan’s decision to hold the Olympics, we believe,” Kato said.
In its new guidance, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said travellers should avoid all travel to Japan.
“Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants,” it said.
Australia has also advised against travel to Japan due to health risks from Covid-19 and disruptions to global travel.
Japan has avoided the large-scale infections suffered by many other nations, but a fourth wave has triggered states of emergency in Tokyo, Osaka and other localities across the nation.
The governor of Osaka said yesterday the prefecture would seek to extend the emergency beyond the current end-date of May 31.
Japan’s slow vaccination roll-out has added to coronavirus concerns.
Ruling Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Toshihiro Nikai also said he saw no direct impact on the Olympics from the US travel advisory but added that there were important practical issues that remained to be resolved.
International spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan to attend the Games but a decision has yet to be made on domestic viewers.
Banning overseas spectators will cut the economic boost from the Games by 151.1bn yen ($1.39bn) while a full cancellation would mean a lost stimulus of 1.8tn yen, or 0.33% of GDP, the Nomura Research Institute said in a report.

Biden admin stands by Tokyo Games as Covid cases surge
Washington: The Biden administration yesterday reaffirmed its support for Tokyo’s plan to hold the Olympic Games this summer and for US athletes competing there despite a new wave of coronavirus cases and a US travel advisory for Japan.
“Our position has not changed on the Olympics,” a senior administration official said on condition of anonymity.
“We understand the careful considerations that the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee are weighing as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The Government of Japan has stressed that public health remains the central priority as they plan to host the Games.”
The White House issued a statement in April during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga saying that President Joe Biden supported Tokyo’s efforts to hold a safe Olympics.
Yesterday, a US State Department spokesperson said Biden supports “the US athletes who have trained for these Games and will be competing in the best traditions of the Olympic spirit”.