The government and the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics plan to tighten restrictions on visiting athletes, Games-related officials and foreign media, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
According to sources, repeat rule breakers will be banned from going out for up to 14 days and placed under the supervision of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
However, monitoring everyone involved with the Tokyo Games will not be possible, calling into question the effectiveness of such a measure.
Guidelines set by the organizing committee concerning novel coronavirus measures prohibit athletes and others related to the Games from traveling to locations other than event venues or places that the committee has been notified of in advance.
The government and the organizing committee has deemed it necessary to ***make the rules governing behavior more specific*** due to reports that members of the foreign media and others have been sneaking out of their hotels and visiting tourist spots in Tokyo, the sources said.
According to plans drawn up by the government and the organizing committee, a warning will be issued to individuals who break the rules or sports governing associations, among others.
People who continue to break the rules after receiving a warning will be required to remain at their accommodation facilities for up to 14 days and placed under the supervision of the organizing committee.
Stricter measures such as fines or disqualification will be taken in serious cases.
With regard to coronavirus testing, people who fail to submit test samples or submit fraudulent samples will be subject to similar punishments, depending on the degree of the violation.
To confirm violations, the organizing committee plans to collect information from people who reported the rule-breaking and video footage, among other sources.
"Most rule-breakers are expected to be members of the foreign media, not athletes who are preparing for competitions," said a senior official of the organizing committee.
The committee and other entities are considering measures to strengthen surveillance such as by placing 24-hour security guards at hotels where athletes are staying and conducting unannounced inspections.
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