▲ IOC president T. Bach announces the delay of Tokyo Olympics

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympics Committee(IOC) president Thomas Bach decided to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics until next summer(2021) because of the Corona Virus disease(COVID 19) on the 25th of March, in the evening. It seems that Japan recognized the seriousness of this disaster eventually.

Only a few days ago, minister Abe didn't agree with the assertion of delaying the Olympics and wanted to continue them because if they were postponed or abandoned, japan would get considerable financial damage. Offering the accommodations for athletes costs high and the Olympics personnel expenses and the world's broadcasting fee in Japan are also expensive. Moreover, many merchants positioning near Tokyo would be disappointed or go behind as there wouldn't be spectators who would come to see the games. Although it is doubtful, the Japanese government said that the COVID 19 infective rate is very low in Japam so there would be no problem.

▲ People worry about spread of Corona virus

By contrast, many people in the world were worried about this assertion. On that day, there were over 4 million COVID 19 patients and the number of patients was increasing fast. So athletes who are supposed to participate in the Olympics were saying that they would not go to Japan. In addition before the spread of Coronavirus, there was a release of radioactivity in Fukushima where the foods for the athletes are produced, so people couldn't trust Japan anymore. Trump, the president of the U.S.A, said it could better to postpone them, too. He thought if there aren't be any spectators in the stadium, delaying is better rather than enforcement.

Lastly, Japanese Prime Minister Abe recognized the seriousness of COVID 19 and decided to put them off until next summer. It is the first time that the Olympics will be held in the odd number year. There isn't a clear schedule and IOC decided not to change the official name of them- not the Tokyo 2021 Olympics. Although there are still the problems of changing the qualification of the athletes, many people think they skipped the biggest problem and are taking a sigh of relief. Also after this situation, the number of Japanese COVID 19 patients has been increasing fast so this decision seems imperatively necessary.