The Japan plan allows Olympic visitors to enter, but with a...

TOKYO – Looking for a way to host the Olympics in 2021 without triggering a coronavirus outbreak, Japan is considering a plan to let foreign athletes and spectators into the country, albeit under strict restrictions such as travel. B. learned where to go.

The government should press ahead with a plan to accommodate the overseas arrivals for the Summer Games, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told cabinet officials at a meeting on Friday.

“Effective measures need to be taken in areas such as preventing outbreaks among tourists and those involved in the games, responding to local authorities, testing methods and maintaining our health system,” Suga said.

The government has held meetings of the coronavirus task force with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Olympic Organizing Committee to hold the Summer Olympics in 2021 after this year’s Games were postponed due to the pandemic.

The parties agreed that an exception would be made for athletes from countries and regions subject to the Japanese entry ban. Athletes must submit negative test results and submit written itineraries as eligibility requirements.

Task force officials discussed ways to prevent clusters of infections from forming in the Olympic village and tournament venues, including setting restrictions on common spaces. The task force is expected to announce plans to grant border exemptions to press and foreign Olympic staff at the next meeting, which is due to take place no earlier than later this month.

The task force will discuss the medical response in the event of infection among Olympians.

Suga will report on the preparations when he meets with Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, who will arrive in Tokyo next month. The Prime Minister will outline the situation of the domestic coronavirus as well as efforts to ease restrictions on entering venues.

“We are currently working on the assumption that there will of course be international viewers,” said Bach on October 7th.

Approximately 15,000 athletes will take part in the Olympic Games. If other authorized personnel are involved, the number can rise to 70,000 or 80,000 people. The volume of foreign arrivals will increase dramatically as the mix is ​​expanded to include viewers.

The government hopes to see economic benefits from hosting the Games, but infections are on the rise again in the US and Europe and the health costs could be severe. A proven vaccine has yet to be developed, and a wave of international tourists could lead to an increase in infections in Japan as well.

“A decision can only be made if we monitor the disease situation from early next year,” said a senior Japanese government official, who named the preferred deadline for making the final appeal next spring.

In this case, only foreign tourists coming to the Olympics are allowed. Tourists arriving for other purposes will be refused entry. The government will look to ways to verify that foreign tourists have received tickets to the Olympics.

Arrivals are subject to coronavirus testing at Narita and Haneda Airports in Tokyo and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. The daily capacity is enough to test 10,000 people.

Test stations will open at airports in Sapporo, Nagoya and Fukuoka next month, doubling test capacity. However, the enlargement does not appear to be sufficient to accommodate an influx of Olympic observers.

Another sticking point will be to keep an eye on the movement of foreign guests. The athletes are already limited to the Olympic villages, tournament venues and practice areas. As a rule, you are not allowed to use public transport.

Foreign tourists and employees are likely to face rules that limit travel options. For example, you could be prevented from walking around business districts.

The government is considering getting foreign arrivals to sign forms stating that they will follow instructions from the authorities during their stay. These written oaths would be signed before leaving their home countries.

“Malicious activity could lead to deportation under immigration law,” said a senior cabinet secretary official.

Policy makers are trying to adopt private sector technology to ensure that testing by foreigners does not affect testing among Japanese. Bulk testing of samples taken in dormitories is also possible. These issues were discussed between the relevant government agencies.