Prime Minister Narendra Modi has commended the Indian diaspora for distinguishing itself across the world, as he received an enthusiastic welcome from the community on his arrival in Washington, DC, on a major visit to further enhance Indo-US relations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the first in-person summit of the Quad leaders in Washington on September 24 that is expected to broadly focus on contemporary global challenges including ways to ensure a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Japan has largely avoided the kind of explosive coronavirus outbreaks that have devastated other countries
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the leaders will exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday the Olympic torch relay scheduled in the city of Osaka has been cancelled amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga are expected to deliberate extensively to give a new momentum to the functioning of the Quad at the summit, diplomatic sources said.
The main elements of the programme are bilateral meetings with the US leadership, participation in the Quad Leaders' Summit, address at the UN General Assembly and business interactions.
US Vice President Kamala Harris would host a separate meeting with the prime ministers of three Quad countries -- India, Australia and Japan -- at the White House to discuss with them the important factors for democracies to go forward, officials said.
In a statement just before leaving for the US, Modi said he will conclude his visit with an address at the United Nations General Assembly focusing on the pressing global challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to combat terrorism, climate change and other important issues.
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the coronavirus. The pandemic has continued to spread, casting a shadow over the viability of hosting the Games next year.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe collapsed in the western Japan city of Nara on Friday after being attacked by an unidentified man and gunshots were heard in the vicinity, local media reported adding that police has seized the attacker.
Half of the Japanese public think the 2020 Olympics will take place this summer, a survey by the Yomiuri daily newspaper showed on Monday, despite most people opposing holding the Games during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here's what you need to know about the Tokyo Games
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday is scheduled to have as many as eight meetings, including with Vice President Kamala Harris, on the first working day of his current US trip.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori attended a meeting on March 10 that included the deputy head of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) who tested positive for the new coronavirus this week, officials said. Mori, 82, has not been tested because he has no symptoms of the virus and does not meet testing requirements, an official from Mori's office said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Mori on March 16, without providing details.
Bach's two-day visit to Tokyo is likely to bolster Japan's efforts to stage the Olympics, but will do little to assuage the concerns of a public deeply worried about the spread of the virus.
A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid a shortage of medical staff and hospital beds in some areas of Tokyo
Games should go ahead to demonstrate to the world what can be achieved with the right plan and measures.
Games could still go ahead with mass athlete participation, but only if they were vaccinated.
The Tokyo Olympics had originally been scheduled for 2020 but were postponed by a year because of the pandemic.
Japan's Mima Ito took the bronze medal after beating Han Ying of Germany in straight games.
The Olympics will take place without spectators in host city Tokyo, organisers said on Thursday, as a resurgent coronavirus forced Japan to declare a state of emergency in the capital that will run throughout the event.
Koike, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, said organisers were still hopeful venues could be filled with spectators when the Olympics begin in July.
Two days after being named in Australia's Olympic tennis team, Nick Kyrgios said he is "tossing up options" and may opt out of the Tokyo Games due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"Relevant countries should abandon the obsolete Cold War mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical rivalry concept and view correctly and respect people's aspiration in the region and do more things conducive to regional solidarity and cooperation," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.
She added that Suga had encouraged her to make the Games successful but declined to say anything further until after a Tokyo 2020 executive board meeting later in the day, when an official announcement on the post was likely to be made.
Towns and cities lined up to host Olympic training or events have increasingly expressed resistance
The schedule announcement comes amid fears that the coronavirus outbreak, labelled a pandemic by the WHO on Wednesday, could have a major impact on the Games.
Organisers have already banned overseas spectators and set a cap on domestic spectators at 50 per cent of capacity
Another downgrade for Tokyo Olympics that have their pomp and public spectacle overshadowed by COVID-19
Japan's Naomi Osaka said on Sunday that while she has spent her entire life waiting to compete at the Olympics, the risks of holding the Tokyo Games amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic should continue to be carefully discussed.
Ahead of the Quad summit on Friday, China said exchanges and cooperation between countries should contribute to mutual understanding rather than "targeting" a third party and refrain from "pursuing exclusive blocs".
'If the Olympics were to spread infection, then what are the Olympics for?'
Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju had also said that Olympic-bound athletes will be given priority in the vaccination.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga reiterated on Thursday his intention to hold the Games.
'This also weighed on us, it weighed on me. But in order to arrive at this day today we had to give confidence, had to show a way out of this crisis'.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, called for the Summer Games to be cancelled in an editorial
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday gifted a Gond art painting, a specimen of Sanjhi art form and a wooden hand-carved box to his fellow Quad leaders from Australia, the US and Japan, sources said.
'I believe we have already missed the opportunity to cancel ... We have been cornered into a situation where we cannot even stop now. We are damned if we do, and damned if we do not.'
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