Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has decided not to attend the starting ceremony for the Tokyo Games' torch relay in Fukushima Prefecture on March 25, according to sources close to the government.
Diet discussions on the budget bill for fiscal 2021 are in the final stage at the House of Councillors, and Suga decided he should prioritize passage of the legislation.
The starting ceremony will take place at J-Village, a soccer facility straddling the towns of Naraha and Hirono in the prefecture. Due to measures aimed at preventing infections with the novel coronavirus, the ceremony will be held without spectators. However, Suga had earlier expressed his wish to attend provided the state of emergency in Tokyo and several other prefectures had been lifted.
The budget bill for the new fiscal year is expected to be passed and enacted possibly next week.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
