Venue capacity for the Tokyo Games is likely to be decided early next week during a five-way videoconference with the main parties involved.
The Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the central government, the Tokyo metropolitan government, the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee will determine the maximum number of spectators at Games venues after the state of emergency ends for Tokyo on Sunday.
Seiko Hashimoto, president of the organizing committee, has been seeking ways to hold the Games with spectators. She has noted that professional baseball and soccer games in Japan are being held with spectators even under the state of emergency.
The decision on venue capacity was postponed from this spring to sometime in June in the hopes that the infection situation would improve.
In response to the suggestion that holding the Games with spectators would increase the flow of people across the country and spread the infection, the organizing committee released data showing that only 26% of the people with general tickets for venues in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama live outside these four prefectures.
"We want to disclose as much information as possible to gain the public's understanding," said a senior official of the organizing committee.
Once capacity is determined, the number of doctors, nurses, first aid stations and ambulances necessary for each venue will be carefully examined.
Another urgent task is to establish rules and regulations for spectators to follow at each venue, with food and beverages being one of the most difficult issues. Many people say alcohol should not be served because drinking leads to less inhibited cheering. The organizing committee is considering encouraging people to eat and drink while sitting in their own seats rather than at facilities where they will face each other, as this will pose a higher risk of infection.
The handling of tickets will also be decided as soon as possible. Some tickets that have already been sold may need to go through another drawing among purchasers to narrow down the number of spectators.
The number of tickets sold, however, has dropped to 42% of the total due to cancellations caused by the postponement of the Games.
Tickets for school to give to students to watch the Games also started accepting cancellations in June, so the number of tickets needing to be drawn again will likely be limited.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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