TOKYO: Japanese public health expert Shigeru Omi said Wednesday that it is “not normal” to hold the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer amid the current novel coronavirus crisis.

“It is not normal to hold (the events) under the current situation, amid this pandemic,” Omi, who heads the government’s COVID-19 task force, told a meeting of the Health, Labor and Welfare Committee of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament.

“It is the organizers’ duty to downsize the Tokyo Games to the minimum possible level and strengthen the system to run the events if the games go ahead under the current situation,” said Omi, also head of the government-affiliated Japan Community Health Care Organization.

Omi also said, “The purpose of holding the Olympics and Paralympics under a situation like this has not been made clear.”

“It’s extremely important for people concerned to explain the vision and reason, and without that, the general public will not cooperate with measures” against the coronavirus, he said, calling on Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to give full-fledged explanations.

In response to Omi’s remarks, Suga told reporters later in the day that he is determined to make the Tokyo Games “safe and secure” events by taking full-scale measures against the coronavirus, suggesting that there is no change in the government’s plan to go ahead with the Summer Olympics and Paralympics, which were postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic.

On the purpose of the Tokyo Games, Suga said: “The Olympics and Paralympics are a celebration of peace. People both with and without disabilities are making efforts to overcome various hurdles. We will make their efforts known to the world.”

JIJI Press