Yoshihide Suga
People wear face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in front of Okayama railway station in Okayama, western Japan, Friday, May 14, 2021. Japan is set to further expand a coronavirus state of emergency, currently in Tokyo and five other prefectures, to nine areas, including Okayama, as the government is determined to hold the Olympics in just over two months. (Kyodo News via AP)
Japan expands virus emergency ahead of Tokyo Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi 14 hrs ago

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, people walk past posters to promote the Olympic Games scheduled to start in the summer in Tokyo. Frustration is mounting over Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s request that people cooperate while he pushes to hold the Olympics in just over two months. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
Frustration in Japan as leader pushes Olympics despite virus

By Mari Yamaguchi May. 12, 2021 05:57 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 28, 2021, file photo, IOC President Thomas Bach, on a screen, waves to Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto at the start of a five-party meeting of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Bach has canceled a trip in May 2021 to Japan because of surging cases of COVID-19 in the country, the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Monday, May 10, 2021 in a statement. Hashimoto said last week that the trip would be “tough” for Bach to make, which was interpreted in Japan as meaning it was canceled. (Franck Robichon/Pool Photo via AP, File)
IOC's Thomas Bach cancels Japan trip because of virus cases

By Stephen Wade May. 10, 2021 05:45 AM EDT

Japanese woman athletes compete during their 100 meter race at an athletics test event for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games at National Stadium in Tokyo, Sunday, May 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Two Tokyo Olympics: Inside and outside the National Stadium

By Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama May. 09, 2021 06:54 AM EDT

Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, speaks during a press conference Friday, May 7, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Hashimoto said Friday that a planned visit to Japan this month by IOC President Thomas Bach seemed unlikely with a state of emergency order being extended by the government to Tokyo and other areas until May 31.(Kyodo News via AP)
Tokyo Olympic head says Bach visit to Japan could be 'tough'

By Stephen Wade May. 07, 2021 05:31 AM EDT

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga responds to a reporter's question after he spoke at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, May 7, 2021. Suga announced an extension of a state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas through May 31. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Packed trains, drinking: Japanese impatient over virus steps

By Mari Yamaguchi May. 06, 2021 10:53 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2020, photo, the Olympics rings are reflected on the window of a hotel restaurant as a server with a mask sets up a table, in the Odaiba section of Tokyo. The vaccine rollout in Japan has been very slow with less than 1% vaccinated. This of course is spilling over to concerns about the postponed Tokyo Olympics that open in just over three months.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Pfizer and BioNTech to donate vaccines for Olympic athletes

May. 06, 2021 07:05 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 25, 2021, file photo, a "No Olympics" banner is placed by protesters in Tokyo during a demonstration against the going ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. An online petition calling for the Tokyo Olympics to be canceled has gained ten of thousands of signatures since being launched in Japan just a few days ago. The rollout comes with Tokyo, Osaka and several other areas under a state of emergency with coronavirus infections rising — particularly new variants. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)
Anti-Olympic petition gains tens of thousands of signatures

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade May. 06, 2021 03:40 AM EDT

FILE - This April 12, 2021, file photo shows the Olympic rings floating in the water in the Odaiba section in Tokyo. Some nurses in Japan are incensed at a request from Tokyo Olympic organizers to have 500 of them dispatched to help out with the games. They say they’re already near the breaking point dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. A protest message saying that nurses were opposed to holding the Olympic went viral on Japanese Twitter recently, being retweeted hundreds of thousands of times. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Tokyo Games need 500 nurses; nurses say needs are elsewhere

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade May. 02, 2021 09:47 PM EDT

A man wearing a protective mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands guard near a logo of Tokyo 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo on Feb. 1, 2021. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee pushed ahead Wednesday, April 28, 2021 with plans to open the postponed Tokyo Olympics in just under three months, unveiling the latest set of rule books to show how the games can be held during a pandemic. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
More tests and still more questions about the Tokyo Olympics

By Stephen Wade Apr. 27, 2021 09:28 PM EDT

Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the Tokyo Olympics (Tokyo 2020) organizing committee, holds a Tokyo 2020 folder during a Tokyo 2020 executive board meeting Monday, April 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Nicolas Datiche/Pool Photo via AP)
More tests, no quarantine in updated Tokyo Olympic rules

By Stephen Wade Apr. 25, 2021 09:37 PM EDT

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declares a state of emergency for Tokyo and three other prefectures during the government task force meeting for the COVID-19 measures at the prime minister's office Friday, April 23, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
Japan issues 3rd virus emergency in Tokyo, Osaka area

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 22, 2021 11:10 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 14, 2021, file photo, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games mascot Miraitowa poses with a display of Olympic Symbol after an unveiling ceremony of the symbol on Mt. Takao in Hachioji, west of Tokyo to mark 100 days before the start of the Olympic Games. Japan is set to raise the coronavirus alert level in Tokyo’s three neighboring prefectures and a forth area in central Japan to allow tougher measures as a more contagious coronavirus variant spreads and doubts are growing whether the Olympics can go ahead. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)
Head of Tokyo Olympics again says games will not be canceled

By Stephen Wade Apr. 16, 2021 02:55 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 3, 2020, file photo, the New National Stadium, a venue for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is seen from Shibuya Sky observation deck in Tokyo. Organizers and the International Olympic Committee are pushing on despite COVID-19 risks, myriad scandals, and overwhelming public opposition in Japan to holding the games. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
100 Days: Tokyo Olympics marked by footnotes and asterisks

By Stephen Wade Apr. 13, 2021 09:35 PM EDT

Hideki Matsuyama, of Japan, holds the trophy after winning the Masters golf tournament on Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Prime minister leads celebrations of Matsuyama's Masters win

By Yuri Kageyama And Koji Ueda Apr. 12, 2021 12:39 AM EDT

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, next to the mascots of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, speaks to media after a government task force meeting for the new virus measures, at the prime minister's office Friday, April 9, 2021, in Tokyo. Japan announced Friday that it will raise the coronavirus alert level in Tokyo to allow tougher measures to curb the rapid spread of a more contagious variant ahead of the Summer Olympics. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
Japan imposes new virus measures in Tokyo ahead of Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 09, 2021 05:29 AM EDT

People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk along a pedestrian crossing in Shibuya district in Tokyo on April 7, 2021. Japan is set to strengthen anti-virus measures in Tokyo on Friday, April 9, 2021 to curb the rapid spread of a more contagious coronavirus variant just three months before the Olympics begin in the capital where most people are not yet vaccinated. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Japan to raise virus steps in Tokyo, 3 months ahead of Games

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 08, 2021 11:52 PM EDT

People wearing face masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus in Osaka, western Japan, Monday, April 5, 2021. Osaka prefecture issued a special warning Wednesday, April 7, 2021 over the rapid upsurge of the coronavirus cases that has put the area's medical systems on the brink of collapse, requesting the cancellation of the Olympic torch relay on public roads. (Juntaro Yokoyama/Kyodo News via AP)
Osaka issues virus spike warning, wants torch relay rerouted

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 07, 2021 05:55 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2018, file photo, IOC president Thomas Bach, second from left, and Kim Yo Jong, right, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, talks with players after the preliminary round of the women's hockey game between Switzerland and the combined Koreas at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea. North Korea has decided not to participate in this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo as it continues a self-imposed lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. A website run by the North's Sports Ministry said the decision was made during a national Olympic Committee meeting on March 25, 2021 where members prioritized protecting athletes from the “world public health crisis caused by COVID-19.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
North Korea says it won't participate in Tokyo Olympics

By Kim Tong-Hyung Apr. 05, 2021 09:29 PM EDT

People wear face masks as they make their way in Osaka, western Japan Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Japan is set to designate Osaka and two other prefectures for new virus control steps Thursday as infections in those areas rise less than four months before the Tokyo Olympics. (Kyodo News via AP)
Japan puts Osaka, 2 other areas under virus semi-emergency

By Mari Yamaguchi Apr. 01, 2021 11:02 AM EDT