Tokyo

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High Jumpers' Unusual Request Is an Olympic Hit

Competitors from Qatar and Italy decide to share gold medal rather than go to a jump-off

(Newser) - It’s the ultimate moment in game recognizing game. Mutaz Barshim of Qatar had been competing against, and making friends with, Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi for years. Both had suffered ankle injuries that took a season away from them. Tamberi was in Barshim’s wedding, the Washington Post reports. Sunday,...

Japan Had Never Hit 10K COVID Cases— Until Yesterday

Country expands its virus emergency

(Newser) - Japan expanded a coronavirus state of emergency to four more areas in addition to Tokyo on Friday following record spikes in infections as the capital hosts the Olympics. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared an emergency in Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba, near Tokyo, as well as in the western city of...

Olympian Refuses to Face Israeli Opponent

Fethi Nourine bowed out rather than face Tohar Butbu

(Newser) - An Algerian athlete is being sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after refusing to face an Israeli opponent. Fethi Nourine bowed out of men's judo 73K division late Thursday and told Algerian television that his support for the Palestinian people precludes him from facing Tohar Butbul. Per Reuters , Nourine...

Athletes Will Really Feel the Heat in Tokyo

This could be the hottest Olympics on record, bringing risk of heatstroke

(Newser) - Tokyo claimed "mild" summer weather made it an ideal candidate to host the Olympic Games in 2020. Consider that an oversell, as athletes could now be in for the hottest Olympics on record. The daily maximum temperature recorded at a Summer Olympics was in Sydney, Australia, in 2000 and...

Composer Who Made Kid Eat Feces Quits Olympics

Keigo Oyamada resigns from Opening Ceremony

(Newser) - A Japanese composer will no longer be participating in the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, an event for which he wrote music. Keigo Oyamada, who performs as Cornelius and has been likened to American musician Beck, resigned after apologizing for bullying classmates years ago, the Washington Post reports....

At Tokyo Olympics, a 'Very Significant Change'

Athletes will put on their own medals to protect against COVID

(Newser) - Athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will put their medals around their own necks to protect against spreading the coronavirus. The "very significant change" to traditional medal ceremonies was revealed Wednesday by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, per the AP . "The medals will not be given around the...

Amid COVID Surge, Tokyo Bans Fans From Olympics

City declares state of emergency

(Newser) - The celebration was premature. Less than three weeks after it was announced that local fans would be allowed at the Summer Olympics, Japan reversed course on Thursday because of a surge in COVID cases, reports the AP . Per the New York Times and the AP , the city reported 920 new...

First Came the Rain. Then, a Mudslide 'as Fast as a Car'

At least 19 are missing in Atami, Japan

(Newser) - A powerful mudslide carrying a deluge of black water and debris crashed into rows of houses in a town west of Tokyo following heavy rains on Saturday, leaving at least 19 people missing, officials said. Dozens of homes may have been buried in Atami, a town known for hot springs,...

Olympics Have Twice Forced This Man From His Home

Kohei Jinno describes 'sad, lonely feeling' as start date approaches

(Newser) - Kohei Jinno is among the minority in Japan who feel this summer's Olympic Games should go on. Otherwise, it would mean he was booted from his home of a half-century for nothing. The 87-year-old and his wife, Yasuko, were one of some 200 families forced out of a public...

Japan Sets Its Rules on Olympic Fans

Venues will be capped at 10K, at least officially

(Newser) - Olympic athletes in Tokyo won't be competing in empty venues. Japan made the controversial decision Monday to allow fans to attend next month's games, reports USA Today . The move comes with stipulations: Venues are supposed to be only half-full at most, and capacity for any venue will be...

This Is the Most Livable City in the World

Auckland, NZ, takes top spot in Economist's rankings, though Kiwis give honor the side-eye

(Newser) - The pandemic has caused a major upset on the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual list of the most livable cities on the planet. Thanks to their relative isolation from the rest of the world, the island nations of New Zealand, Australia, and Japan all had strong showings in the top...

An Olympic Visit Illustrates COVID Tensions in Japan

IOC president's planned visit to Tokyo is likely to be canceled because of lockdown

(Newser) - The International Olympic Committee president is supposed to attend a torch relay ceremony in Japan in days, though the visit is looking less and less likely because of COVID. Broadcaster NHK reported Friday that Thomas Bach's visit was likely to be canceled, reports Reuters , the latest development in growing...

After Long Delay, More Bad News for Olympics Fans

Spectators from overseas have been banned from the summer event in Tokyo

(Newser) - Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics this summer. The decision was announced after a meeting of the International Olympic Committee, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee, and local organizers, reports the AP . Officials say the risk was too great to admit fans...

Cops: Japan Woman's Fear of Eviction Led to Gruesome Act

Yumi Yoshino stashed mom's body in freezer for 10 years so she could stay in apartment: authorities

(Newser) - A Japanese woman is being detained "on suspicion of abandoning and hiding a female body"—with the body being that of her own mother. Per the Guardian , cops say that 48-year-old Yumi Yoshino kept her mom's remains for about 10 years in a freezer in their once-shared...

Source Says Japan Has Given Up on Tokyo Olympics

But many, many bodies are denying that report and say the 2020 games will go on

(Newser) - The 2020 Olympics were rescheduled to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and officially, Japan is not wavering in its commitment to host the games in Tokyo starting July 23. But behind the scenes, wavering is indeed apparently happening—big time. According to an anonymous senior member of the ruling...

Amid 'Dire Circumstances,' a New COVID Record

United States registers record number of deaths from virus, 2 days in a row

(Newser) - The United States saw its deadliest day of the pandemic on Wednesday, with 3,865 new COVID deaths registered, per Johns Hopkins stats—beating the previous record of 3,775 deaths, which had been registered only the day before, ABC News reports. In an additional two-day streak, the nation saw...

For Now, Olympics Are Still On. But First, a Test

18 spring test events will include some athletes, fans

(Newser) - The postponed Tokyo Olympics are getting a kick-start. Local organizers on Friday announced a series of 18 test events set to begin in March and run into May, before the Tokyo Olympics are set to open on July 23, 2021, reports the AP . The announcement in an online news conference...

It's a Zombie Attack, but With Social Distance

Company in Tokyo gets creative during pandemic with drive-thru scares

(Newser) - It’s a living nightmare—but a socially distanced one, per the AP . "Zombies" attack vehicles, smearing them with artificial blood. But the customers inside the cars are safely separated from their stalkers by the windows. Production company Kowagarasetai, roughly translated as "Scare Squad," has launched a...

Aquarium's Problem: Its Eels Are Forgetting People Exist

An 'unprecedented situation' in Tokyo

(Newser) - A Japanese aquarium has an "urgent request" for locals who can't stop by for a visit due to the coronavirus shutdown: It wants them to partake in a "face-showing festival" instead and call in for a video chat with its spotted garden eels, for whom the presence...

At the End of 'Dark Tunnel,' an Olympic Light

Official dates set for next year's Games in Tokyo: July 23 to Aug. 8

(Newser) - There's now an official date for the 2020 Olympics in Japan, postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Olympics officials and Japanese organizers announced Monday that the Tokyo Games will be held next summer from July 23 to Aug. 8, TMZ reports. Officials say this schedule was chosen to help...

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