Japanese Health Experts Advise Holding Tokyo Olympics Without Spectators

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th June, 2021) Japan's expert panel on the coronavirus pandemic on Friday said that it would be better to hold the Summer Olympics in Tokyo without a live audience.

"Holding the games without spectators brings the risk of infection at stadiums down to a minimum and is the desirable way to hold [the games]," the experts said in a report presented to the organizing committee, as quoted by Kyodo.

This opinion, however, runs contra to the wishes of the government, which is currently mulling setting the number of spectators at the sporting event to 10,000 people, or no more than 50% of the occupancy of a facility.

The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were initially scheduled for 2020 but were postponed in the spring of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The games are to take place this summer, from July 23 until August 8. It is supposed to feature the largest number of athletic disciplines, 33, as well as categories, 339.