TOKYO — Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday said the swift development of vaccines and effective treatments for COVID-19 are priorities towards achieving the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Abe said recovery from the coronavirus pandemic only in Japan would not be enough to hold the Games, because it involves spectators and athletes from around the world.
Abe reiterated that the government hopes to hold the Tokyo Games “in a complete form” — with spectators — as a proof of human victory against the coronavirus.
In late March, when the coronavirus became a global pandemic, Japan and the International Olympic Committee agreed to postpone the Games by one year to July 2021.
Abe acknowledged Monday that the fight against the virus “would be an endurance battle.”
