IOC Bach Press Conference Holds Decision on Postponement of Global Infection, March 25, 19:25
Bach, chairman of the IOC = International Olympic Committee, has decided to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics for about one year, and has begun a telephone conference shortly after 6:30 pm Japanese time on June 25.
At the outset, Chairman Bach said of the postponement decision: "We made the decision because the spread of the new coronavirus has spread. We will follow WHO's advice if there is any change. Japan has taken adequate measures. But because of the rapid spread of infection in other parts of the world. "
"We had to make a joint decision, not just the IOC, because we need to unite for the success of the tournament. We've been monitoring the situation 24 hours a day, Was important. "
About time to postpone the tournament will consider whether or not there is what kind of choices, including consultations by telephone from tomorrow also. International sports organizations have begun to consider details such as "organizing committee. Consider the national sports calendar We need to consider a variety of issues, and we want to make decisions as soon as possible, but the priority is to make good decisions. "
When asked the question, "How much did the athlete's voice consider?" "We have been consulting with many athletes and athlete committees. None of them have appealed to cancel the tournament. The decision was made in a difficult situation, taking into account the voices of the athletes who did not. "
As for future tasks and tasks, "This is like a huge jigsaw puzzle, but if one piece is missing, the whole will collapse. All the pieces are important, so I want to leave it to a specialized working group. There is no postponement in the history of the Olympics so far, and we are convinced that it will be an unprecedented challenge, but that at the end we can complete a beautiful puzzle. "
When asked if he couldn't make a decision earlier, he said, "We had to look through the situation in an uncertain situation, naturally ignoring the concerns of athletes, I haven't refused, I've exchanged views with the Olympic Committee and athlete representatives around the world, "he stressed.