Overseas fans banned from Tokyo Olympics over virus: organizers

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike (on screen) speaks alongside Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee president Seiko Hashimoto (L) and Japan's Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa (R). (AFP)

TOKYO: Overseas fans will be barred from this year’s pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics because of ongoing coronavirus concerns, organizers announced Saturday.
“In order to give clarity to ticket holders living overseas and to enable them to adjust their travel plans at this stage, the parties on the Japanese side have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to enter into Japan at the time of the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” the Tokyo 2020 organizing body said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee “fully respect and accept this conclusion,” the statement added.