加藤官房長官、五輪開催方針変わらず　専門家「緊急事態下なら困難」

　加藤勝信官房長官は２３日のＮＨＫ番組で、開会式まで２カ月となった東京五輪に関し、「（新型コロナウイルス）感染を徹底的に抑え込み、ワクチン接種を早期に進めることで、より一層国民の安心を確保していく」と述べ、開催方針に変わりがないことを強調した。
　これに対し、加藤氏とともに出演した政府の基本的対処方針分科会メンバーである東邦大の舘田一博教授は「緊急事態宣言が東京で出されているような状況であれば開催は難しい」と指摘した。
　一方、同日のフジテレビ番組で、平井卓也デジタル改革担当相は「国民の命と健康を守ることができるのなら、パンデミック（世界的流行）下での五輪開催というモデルを、日本が初めてつくることになる」と語った。（2021/05/23-11:24）

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato suggested Sunday that there is no change in the current plans to hold the Tokyo Olympics this summer despite the persistent spread of the novel coronavirus.
   "We'll further ensure the safety of Japanese citizens by working thoroughly on containing the virus and proceeding with vaccinations swiftly," Kato, Japan's top government spokesman, said in a television program exactly two months before the July 23 opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.
   Reacting to the comment by Kato, Toho University Prof. Kazuhiro Tateda, who serves as a member of a panel of experts on the government's basic policy to combat the COVID-19 crisis, said in the same TV program, "It would be difficult to hold the games if Tokyo is placed under a coronavirus state of emergency."
   The Japanese government's third state of emergency over COVID-19 currently covers Tokyo and nine other prefectures.
   Meanwhile, appearing in a different TV program on Sunday, digital reform minister Takuya Hirai said, "If the lives and health of Japanese people can be protected, Japan will be the first to create a model of holding the Olympics during a pandemic."