The EU and Japan said Thursday they backed the holding of a “safe and secure” Olympic Games despite calls for the event to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We support the holding of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner this summer as a symbol of global unity in defeating COVID-19,” the two sides said in a statement following a video summit between EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel and Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
Several parts of Japan are under a state of emergency because of a surge in infections, and the Japanese public is largely opposed to holding the Games this summer.
Medical groups have warned the…
Keep on reading: EU backs Japan holding ‘safe and secure’ Olympics