FILE PHOTO: Japan’s Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto attends a news conference at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan September 11, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO (Reuters) – The world needs to put an end to the coronavirus before the Tokyo Games can be held in their “complete form,” Japanese Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said on Tuesday.
“I believe the Tokyo Games cannot move toward the ‘complete form’ that the prime minister (Shinzo Abe) has mentioned as long as countries of the world have not put an end to the coronavirus,” Hashimoto told reporters.
“So, it’s first and foremost for us to join forces and respond firmly for putting an end to the coronavirus,” she said.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Chris Gallagher