Olympic Games: Overseas Tokyo Olympic fans barred as IOC urges "sacrifice" for safety

Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months, the International Olympic Committee and local organizers said in statement on Saturday after an online meeting of the IOC, the Japanese government, the Tokyo government, the International Paralympic Committee and local organisers. IOC president Thomas Bach said before the announcement that a safe Tokyo Summer Olympics will require "sacrifice". The move was expected and rumored for several months. Officials said the risk was too great to admit ticket holders from overseas during a pandemic, an idea strongly opposed by the Japanese public. Japan has attributed about 8,800 deaths to COVID-19 and has controlled the virus better than most countries