The COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on every facet of life in 2020, and somewhere down the list of important things that were put aside due to the public health crisis was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being postponed a calendar year to 2021, in the hopes that the virus would be under control and the global sporting event could take place in its normal form.
However, as the first month of 2021 nears its close, it is clear that the hopes of the pandemic being fully behind us by this coming July is not going to happen, as vaccine rollout continues to be a somewhat slow practice and new mutations of the virus are capable of being spread at a vastly greater rate than the already highly contagious virus. As such, with just six months until the planned opening ceremonies, there is discussion being had regarding whether the 2020 (now 2021) Tokyo Games will be able to take place.
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According to The Times, the Japanese government has reached a consensus that there is no way for them to put on the Games as planned and they will need to cancel. The main holdup on an announcement, per the report, is that Japan is hoping to keep a future Olympics in Tokyo, aiming for 2032, and is working on the right way to cancel the Games to keep in the IOC’s good graces enough to land the future event.
Read more: Uproxx
