The main stadium for the Tokyo Olympics, viewed Monday through an observation deck. Organizers suggested they won’t make a decision this year whether to go ahead with the games next summer.
Photo: issei kato/ReutersTOKYO—Organizers for the Tokyo Olympics are making health and safety plans for a pandemic-era Games that they still can’t ensure will take place next year, including the possibility that any spectators would be required to show proof they aren’t infected with coronavirus.
The organizers are considering such measures a year ahead of the rescheduled Games, which were supposed to have begun this week before the pandemic intervened. The efforts to preserve the Olympics come against a backdrop of fading support for holding them among the Japanese public.
Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, said in an interview that planning for safety steps is likely to take at least until the end of the year, suggesting there won’t be a decision this year on whether the Games can take place or must be canceled.
Issues under consideration include whether spectator numbers should be reduced to prevent the virus from spreading. While Mr. Muto said athletes and officials would be tested in Japan before and during the Games, he said discussion was needed with the government and the city of Tokyo about guidelines for spectators.
“It would be extremely difficult for us to test everyone. Spectators may be tested instead before they leave their own countries,” he said, adding they might be told to bring documentation showing they are free of the virus.
‘It would be extremely difficult for us to test everyone’ for Covid-19, said Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.
Photo: issei kato/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesMaking rules for spectators is tricky because many tickets have already been sold and remain valid for next year. Ticket holders can also opt for a refund.
The Olympics were scheduled to begin this Thursday, but the plan was moved back almost exactly a year, with all the venues for events unchanged. A small ceremony to mark the one-year-to-go date is planned for the National Stadium in Tokyo on Thursday.
Many Japanese are skeptical the Games can go ahead as new waves of coronavirus infection hit Japan and other countries. A series of recent opinion polls in Japan have shown around two-thirds of the public think the Olympics should be delayed again or scrapped. A survey released by Kyodo News on Sunday showed only 24% of the public are in favor of holding the Games as planned.
Mr. Muto said there was no deadline to decide whether the rescheduled Games could go ahead and no discussion of any further postponement, something that has been ruled out by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
“Through next summer there may be various waves of infection, but it’s assumed the overall trend will gradually decline. We will closely watch if that happens and to what degree infections subside,” Mr. Muto said.
“We’ve agreed with the IOC it’s not appropriate to set a deadline” on whether to proceed with the Games, he said.
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“Of course, there may be a time when we have to make an important decision. The postponement this year was decided by Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe and President Bach and there could be a situation in which the two would have to initiate discussions again. We hope that won’t happen,” he said.
The organizers are now working on ways to reduce costs and considering coronavirus countermeasures. Mr. Muto said the size of delegations from national Olympic committees and sports federations could be reduced and the opening and closing ceremonies could be scaled back.
While indoor venues for Olympic events are a greater risk for the spread of the coronavirus than outdoor locations, Mr. Muto said indoor events couldn’t be moved outside because so many related events would also have to be relocated, such as athletes’ news conferences, medal ceremonies and doping tests.
The organizers have given themselves through the end of the year to compile the main steps to deal with the coronavirus, but Mr. Muto said adjustments may have to be made right up to the start of the Games. Olympic planners are also trying to limit additional costs that may run into several billion dollars. A cancellation could also be very costly.
“In addition to the fact that all the money invested so far would be brought to nothing, there would be compensation issues and further expenses,” Mr. Muto said. “While the Japanese and global economies are facing tough situations, the impact would be immeasurable if we were to cancel a big event like this.”
—Chieko Tsuneoka contributed to this article.
Write to Alastair Gale at alastair.gale@wsj.com
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