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.
The organisers took the unprecedented step of postponing the Olympics in March because of the pandemic and the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has declared he will host the Olympics "at any cost", is pressing ahead with the preparations.
Kishida Fumio, who served as Japan's foreign minister from 2012 to 2017, visited India multiple times in that role and interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi both in New Delhi and in Tokyo, and with Dr Manmohan Singh, when the then prime minister, visited Japan in 2013.
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.
Here's what you need to know about the Tokyo Games
The PM will also meet Australian Prime Minister Scot Morrison and Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga on the same day.
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.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the leaders will exchange views and assessments about important developments in the Indo-Pacific.
A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid a shortage of medical staff and hospital beds in some areas of Tokyo
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating, along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and President of USA Joseph R. Biden, in the first Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, being held virtually on March 12," the MEA said in a statement.
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.
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
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.
The survey showed 39.2 per cent want the Games scrapped, while 32.8 per cent favour another delay
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.
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.
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.
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.
'If the Olympics were to spread infection, then what are the Olympics for?'
'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.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington, DC, on Wednesday on an official visit to the United States during which he will hold the first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris, attend the maiden in-person Quad summit and address the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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.
Games should go ahead to demonstrate to the world what can be achieved with the right plan and measures.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun, an official partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, called for the Summer Games to be cancelled in an editorial
India, Australia, Japan and the US on Friday pledged to work together for ensuring peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific and the world, as top leaders of the Quad grouping announced a slew of new initiatives to take on common challenges, amidst muscle flexing by an assertive China in the strategic region.
A government spokesman said there was "no truth" to a report in Britain's Times newspaper that the government had privately concluded the Games would have to be cancelled.
"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.
Japan on Friday extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas by about three weeks to June 20 as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing less than two months before the Summer Olympics open.
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.
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.
Some critics contend that Japan's rush to secure supplies is driven largely by a political desire to show the world it is fully committed to hosting the Games.
Towns and cities lined up to host Olympic training or events have increasingly expressed resistance
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.
Games could still go ahead with mass athlete participation, but only if they were vaccinated.
The Olympic torch relay set off from Fukushima on Thursday, beginning a four-month countdown to the summer Games in Tokyo
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.
The Tokyo Olympics had originally been scheduled for 2020 but were postponed by a year because of the pandemic.
Japan is not making any preparations to postpone the 2020 Olympics, the government's top spokesman said on Wednesday, stressing Tokyo's resolve to host the event as scheduled despite the global spread of coronavirus.
