Covid-19 complexity sees Seb Coe sympathise with Tokyo 2020 chief Hashimoto

Sebastian Coe, the head of the world governing body of track and field, meets Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto on Friday to discuss various test events that are being held across the nation ahead of the games.

Hashimoto welcomed Coe's visit and believes that the latest marathon was a good way to observe COVID-19 countermeasures that were taken at the event.

Coe attended the half-marathon test event run in Japan's northern city of Sapporo on Wednesday which made him confident that the Olympic marathon can be held successfully in the city when the Tokyo Games open in just under three months.

Coe, who is seen as a possible candidate to head the International Olympic Committee after Thomas Bach, was outwardly laudatory. He will be on hand on Sunday when Tokyo organizers hold another test event at the new $1.4 billion National Stadium in Tokyo.

Hashimoto hopes that Coe can also give additional feedback on the test events.

Coe met with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike earlier, who also stressed the importance of holding test events in order to ensure that COVID-19 countermeasures are taken properly.

Tokyo organizers have held a series of test events in the last several days and have reported few problems. The largest problem is convincing the Japanese population that the Olympics, with 11,000 athletes and thousands of others, should take place in the middle of a pandemic.

In polls, 70-80% in Japan say they don't want the Olympics to take place. That sentiment has not moderated with Tokyo, Osaka and other areas under emergency orders with cases surging, particularly the more contagious variants.

Japan is looking to extend the current state of emergency until end of May which Tokyo is under.

Only about 2% of Japan's population has been vaccinated for COVID-19. The country has reported just over 10,000 deaths from the coronavirus.