Tokyo Olympics: North Korea boycotts mega event citing Covid-19 pandemic as reason

Amid COVID-19 fears, North Korea has become the first country to boycott the Tokyo Olympics. This is the first time that North Korea has dropped out of the Summer Olympics since 1988 amid the Cold War. With increasing COVID-19 fears around the world, the question is: will Tokyo Olympics get postponed?

North Korea Tokyo Olympics decision

North Korea Tokyo Olympics decision was made on March 25 by the country's Olympics committee, who cited the need to protect the athletes amid the global coronavirus pandemic. They themselves have highlighted that they have had no COVID-19 infections so far, a claim doubted by several experts. Rachel Minyoung Lee, an independent political analyst who worked for the U.S. government in areas related to North Korea, said, "Quarantine remains a top priority for North Korea, and given that the Covid situation remains serious globally, Pyongyang clearly decided that it cannot risk sending a delegation to Japan."

Considering that the Tokyo Olympics was perceived as an opportunity for North Korea to reconcile their relations with the rest of the world, many experts believe that their withdrawal is a direct attack on Japan. However, Lee dismissed these claims. "If this had been targeted at Japan, North Korea’s announcement would have come in a higher-level statement, not a report on the Sports Ministry website," said Lee.

Will Tokyo Olympics get postponed?

The games were originally scheduled for July 2020 but the pandemic resulted in the postponement of the event to this year. However, with COVID-19 cases rising throughout the world, this year's Olympics could also be postponed considering it's a large scale event. However, organisers have insisted that they have put in place preventive measures to ensure the safety of the athletes.

Despite preventive measures, there are still widespread concerns that the upcoming games could in fact worsen the spread of the virus. Moreover, questions have been raised as to whether the games should be held at all considering Japan's rising number of COVID-19 infections and slow vaccine rollout. However, Japan's Olympic Committee on April 6 said that the Japanese government hoped that countries will join the games and also promised protective measures.

Tokyo Olympics schedule

As per the Tokyo Olympics schedule, the games begin on July 23 this year and end on August 8. As per various reports in Japan, the organisers have decided not to permit international spectators in the stadium as the threat of coronavirus is still prevalent. For the latest news and updates of the Tokyo Olympics date and schedules, fans can check the Tokyo Olympics official website.