US travel notice on Japan unlikely to affect Games
Print Edition
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.
It didn’t ban Americans from visiting Japan, but the warning could affect insurance rates and whether Olympic athletes and other participants decide to join the games.
“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 canceled or postponed due to worries over coronavirus.
An online “Stop Tokyo Olympics” campaign had collected 387,000 signatures as of yesterday, organizers 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, adding that Washington has told Tokyo the travel warning is not related to participation of the US Olympic team.
In its new guidance, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said travelers should avoid all travel to Japan.
“Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travelers 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.
Slow rate of vaccination
Japan’s slow vaccination roll-out has added to coronavirus concerns.
The country, which has recorded 715,940 infections and 12,308 deaths from the virus, has delivered vaccinations to just under 5 percent of its population, the slowest among the world’s larger, rich countries.
The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, which oversees Team USA, said that it was aware of the updated State Department advisory on Japan.
“We feel confident that the current mitigation practices in place for athletes and staff by both the USOPC and the Tokyo Organizing Committee, coupled with the testing before travel, on arrival in Japan, and during Games time, will allow for safe participation of Team USA athletes this summer,” the statement said.
A US State Department spokesman said Washington understood “the careful considerations that the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee are weighing as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
