Tokyo Olympic organizers are pushing ahead with the Japaneseleg of the torch relay despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus.
The Olympic flame, which is due to arrive on Friday fromGreece, is scheduled to navigate the country for four months from March 26until the planned opening of the Olympics on July 24 at the national stadium inTokyo.
Organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto said Tuesday thatcrowds will be allowed to gather on the roadside to watch the relay. The firstleg begins in northern Fukushima prefecture, which was devastated in 2011 by anearthquake, tsunami and the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. Muto asked forrestraint and warned the relay could be stopped or delayed.
"We'd like to ask people who are feeling unwell to refrainfrom being on the roadside," Muto said, speaking through an interpreter. "Wewould also like to ask people to avoid crowds when cheering along the road. Inthe event of overcrowding, we may have to change the way we carry out therelay."
Muto was pushed several times about what crowd behavior hewas asking for.
"We don't want to talk about the definition of refraining," he said. "But we don't want people to feel there is an all-out blanket request for refraining. So basically it depends on your interpretation."
He said it was difficult to define what constitutes too manypeople. Speaking in a room with about 100 reporters, Muto was asked if this wastoo many.
"This is packed," he said, "but not overpacked."
The torch relay in Greece last week was called off on thesecond day because crowds were too large.
Muto was also pressed again about the chance of the Olympicsbeing canceled or postponed.
"In many ways and many forms people are asking us the samequestion," Muto said. "Our stance is, as scheduled, the Olympics are goingto take place in a safe and secure manner."
The torch relay is heavily sponsored by Coca-Cola and Japanese carmaker Toyota, which pays millions of dollars as some of the International Olympic Committee's top sponsors. They are sure to lose exposure during the relay, and Muto was asked if sponsors were concerned about economic damage.
"We have not talked about the topic with sponsorpartners," Muto said, "and our partners have not approached us aboutthe topic, either."
