On Tuesday, Japanese officials said they did not expect a US travel warning due to coronavirus issues to impact the Tokyo Olympics, which are less than two months away, and that US support for the Games had not changed.
The US State Department issued a "Do Not Travel" warning and advice for Japan on Monday, which did not directly mention the Olympics but advised against visiting the country at this time.
At a press conference, Olympic Minister Tamayo Marukawa said, "At this time, we can see no particular effect." She pointed out that the advisory did not prohibit necessary travel, and that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee had stated that proposed mitigation practices would allow Team USA athletes to compete safely.
Even though polls indicate that a majority of Japanese want the Games canceled or postponed due to concerns about coronavirus, Japanese and Olympic officials have promised that the Games will go on as scheduled on July 23 after being postponed in 2020.
According to organizers, an online "Stop Tokyo Olympics" movement had gathered 387,000 signatures as of Tuesday.
Japan is in close touch with the US government, according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato.
"We think the United States' support for Japan's decision to host the Olympics has not changed," Kato said.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidelines advising travelers to avoid all travel to Japan.
"Because of the current situation in Japan, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk of contracting and transmitting COVID-19 variants," the report warned.
Australia has also warned against traveling to Japan due to COVID-19-related health threats and global travel disruptions.
MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN THE MILITARY
While Japan has escaped the large-scale infections that have afflicted many other countries, a fourth wave has prompted the state of emergency declarations in Tokyo, Osaka, and other cities across the country.
On Tuesday, the governor of Osaka announced that the prefecture will attempt to prolong the state of emergency past the current May 31 deadline.
Coronavirus fears have been exacerbated by Japan's poor vaccine rollout.
The country, which has seen 715,940 infections and 12,308 deaths as a result of the virus, has only vaccinated around 5% of its population, the slowest rate among the world's larger, wealthier nations.
According to the Nikkei newspaper, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told a parliamentary panel that the government was preparing to send military medical staff to the Games at the request of the organizers, but that the move would not impact the military's mass vaccination sites in Tokyo and Osaka.
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), which oversees Team USA, said it was aware of the revised State Department advisory on Japan in a statement to Reuters.
"We are confident that the current mitigation procedures in place for athletes and staff by both the USOPC and the Tokyo Organizing Committee, combined with testing prior to travel, upon arrival in Japan, and during the Games, will enable Team USA athletes to participate safely this summer," the statement said.
Toshihiro Nikai, a heavyweight in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the US travel advisory had no direct effect on the Olympics, but that there were significant practical issues to be addressed.
International spectators will not be permitted to reach Japan for the Games, but domestic viewers will be required.
According to the Nomura Research Institute, banning foreign visitors would reduce the economic boost from the Games by 151.1 billion yen ($1.39 billion), while a complete cancellation will result in a missed stimulus of 1.8 trillion yen, or 0.33 percent of GDP.
