World swimming champion and Olympic medal hopeful Daiya Seto was among a group of top athletes who participated in a teleconference Wednesday with government officials and pleaded for the National Training Center and other facilities to be opened as soon as a possible.
Seto, who has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, and table tennis player Jun Mizutani, fencer Kazuyasu Minobe and volleyball player Erika Araki exchanged opinions with Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Koichi Hagiuda and Japan Sports Agency Commissioner Daichi Suzuki, himself a former Olympic champion swimmer.
The National Training Center in Kita Ward, Tokyo, is among the sports facilities which have been closed since the declaration of a state of emergency due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
"It would be great if we could use the facilities as soon as possible," said Seto, a double gold medalist at the 2019 world championships who added he had purchased a 3-meter-long, 2-meter-wide pool to maintain muscle strength at home.
The Japan Sports Agency plans to work with relevant organizations about the request, while coming up with measures to prevent the spread of the infection with each sports federation.
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