Coronavirus affecting events related to 2020 Tokyo Games

February 21, 2020

Tokyo--The ever-spreading new coronavirus, which originated in China, has caused cancellations and postponements of events in Japan, including those related to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The mood of self-restraint is expected to continue for a while after the government Thursday called for organizers to consider whether it is necessary to hold large-scale events that will attract large numbers of people.

On Wednesday, the Japan Marine Industry Association said that it will cancel this year's Japan International Boat Show, the country's largest maritime event which annually attracts over 50,000 visitors.

The event was to be held March 5-8 at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center and elsewhere in Yokohama, just south of Tokyo.

The association in a statement said that it prioritizes the health and safety of everyone involved in the event.

During the Japan International Boat Show 2020, the association had planned to hold an event on sailing, one of the Olympic sports.

"We considered going ahead with (the event) by setting up alcoholic disinfectant dispensers at the venues and implementing other measures. But the situation has become more severe over the past week," an official at the association said.

On Thursday, the Japanese Para-Sports Association said it will cancel an international tournament for boccia scheduled for Feb. 28-March 1 at the Ariake Gymnastics Center in Tokyo.

It also said that it will discuss whether to hold the event on other dates. Boccia is a Paralympic sport similar to bowls.

Some 40 people, including athletes with severe cases of cerebral palsy, from Japan and nine other nations were set to compete in the tournament.

As the tournament was to serve as a test event for the Tokyo Paralympics, the organizing committee of the 2020 Games said it will consider how to hold such a test event.

The organizers for Nagoya Women's Marathon 2020 said Thursday that it will exclude runners from the general public from this year's event, set for March 8, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some 24,000 people from the general public were slated to run in the race in the central Japan city of Nagoya.

About 140 elite runners will join the event, which doubles as the final selection race for Japanese women seeking slots in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon race.

It will be the first time for the organizers of the annual Nagoya race to exclude nonelite participants since the race started in 2012.

Meanwhile, the Osaka prefectural government canceled or postponed, in principle, a total of 242 prefecture-hosted events that were scheduled to be held over the month to March 20.

Among the events were a program in which high school students and others experience the job of a police officer, including collecting fingerprints and trying on uniforms.

The Osaka government called on 43 municipalities within the western prefecture to cooperate and taking similar actions.

An event featuring sake was called off in the central Japan prefecture of Niigata, which boasts the largest number of sake brewers in the country.

The event, including tasting and other attractions, was to be held March 14-15, hosted by the Niigata Sake Brewers Association and others. It is one of the largest sake events in the country, attracting over 140,000 visitors last year. Jiji Press