Japanese athletes at the Summer Olympics will not be eligible for coronavirus vaccinations offered by China since Japan has not approved the vaccines, Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa (above) said in Tokyo today.

The Chinese Olympic Committee offered vaccine doses for participants of this year's Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said yesterday.

IOC President Thomas Bach's announcement during an online session took organisers of the Tokyo Games, such as Chief Executive Toshiro Muto, by surprise. Muto declined to comment on the offer at a briefing after the session yesterday.

Today, Marukawa said there was no change in Tokyo organisers' plans for a safe Olympic Games, regardless of whether participants had been vaccinated.

"I think that will be a decision for countries where (Chinese vaccines) have been approved," Marukawa told a regular news conference when asked if athletes should receive the vaccinations offered by China.

"I am not aware if any Chinese companies have applied for approval of Chinese vaccines in our country," she said, indicating that Japanese athletes would not be eligible.

"We are taking comprehensive anti-infection measures, including activity management and testing, so that people can feel secure about participating in the Tokyo Games, even without vaccination.

"There is no change that we are proceeding on the assumption of people not getting vaccinations."

The Tokyo Olympics are set to run from July 23 to Aug 8, and the Paralympics from Aug 24 to Sept 5, after being postponed for a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

- Reuters

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