For Japan PM Abe Olympic Games 2020 is the point of honor - he does not care if people will die. That's why Japan puts obstacles to coronavirus testing.
It is a long and convoluted story. 1964 Tokyo Olympics - organized by Abe's grandfather - then Japan PM (yes, Japan is democracy but political establishment is hereditary) - are seen as a start of Japan's economic miracle.
Although I am far from an Abe fan, I honestly don't think this is it. I think what he is doing is casting doubt on whether or not the Olympics will go ahead. This will slow down the rate at which cancellations in hotel accommodations will happen. I think the idea is probably to cushion the shock to the economy. He'll probably cast doubt as long as he feasibly can and then announce a postponement.
I can understand why the IOC (and perhaps Japan) are delaying the decision. But the Canadians are probably right, and their lead will be followed.
Can't see many countries risking their top athletes right now, anyway.
Even the opening ceremony would be a massive risk according to what's currently known.
A lot can happen in 4 weeks, but the changes that need to take place in time for the Olympics (Vaccine? Effective treatment? Scalable testing and containment?) appear to be a long way off.
And what happens if the IOC end up needing to ban certain countries still fighting the issue?
If the world can't get together for one global event then we are really fucked.
It would be pretty important if we could pull this off.
Part I suspect is the money in winning and how some countries won't be at 100% vs let's prove as humans we can achieve something as a global community in a crisis.
There can't be in person spectators and there will be isolations either side.
You can't have competitive sports during a pandemic, full stop. It's not a question of will, it's a question of basic public health, and putting a few brain cells together. Athletes will not compete in PPE...
Olympic games are 20% for sport and 80% for the money brought by spectators/tourists. The host country spends billions in local infrastructures (stadiums, hotels, roads, &c.) it would make no sense to have the competitions without in person spectators.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/52002474