Reuters Next: Suntory CEO says unsure Japan can hold Olympics, should do its best

Suntory Beverage & Food

13/01/2021 06:30

TOKYO, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The head of Japanese beverage
group Suntory Holdings, who is also a government adviser, said
he was not sure whether Japan can host the Olympics due to the
coronavirus pandemic, but that it should do its best to do so.
    "I'm not sure whether we'll be able to hold the Tokyo
Olympics or not," Suntory CEO Takeshi Niinami told Reuters in an
online interview on Wednesday.
    "But it's a great message to the world... We should make
every effort."
    Japan initially managed to avoid the kind of explosion in
coronavirus cases seen in countries such as the United States,
but infections have risen steadily.
    The government plans to expand a state of emergency it
declared for the Tokyo area last week to seven more prefectures
on Wednesday, media reported, as the public's hopes for a Summer
Olympics fade with the steady spread of COVID-19. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2JO019   
    
    
    For more coverage from the Reuters Next conference please
click here (Full Story) or www.reuters.com/business/reuters-next

To watch Reuters Next live, visit https://www.reutersevents.com/events/next/register.php

 (Reporting by Kevin Krolicki; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing
by Kim Coghill)