The Tokyo Olympics may if the novel coronavirus mutates into a stronger pathogen, said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a prominent Japanese government adviser.
However, a recent spike in cases in Tokyo is due to a failure to stick to guidelines to prevent contagion, he added.
A physician who served as a science adviser to the Japanese cabinet from 2006-2008, Mr Kurokawa also headed an independent probe into the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Currently, he is advising the government on the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think the virus is mutating all the time ... it may be a much stronger virus that triggers a second wave,” Kurokawa said. “The Olympics may be postponed again, but I can’t predict.”
“I think it’s small incidents happening in Tokyo ... new cases are because people are not abiding by recommendations,” Mr Kurokawa said of the current spike in infections. “But if there are some mutations, that is a completely different story. That could happen anywhere in the world.”
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Monday the Olympics, originally scheduled to start this month but put off to 2021 because of the pandemic, must go ahead next year as a symbol of world unity in overcoming coronavirus.
The spike in infections in Tokyo, which accounts for more than one-third of Japan’s more than 23,000 cases, has prompted a backlash against a planned campaign to promote domestic tourism. Mr Kurokawa said authorities were trying to balance priorities.
“I think one of the concerns of this pandemic is how to prevent the spreading out of this corona infection. The other side of this issue is ... how to promote the economy. Many people are losing their jobs,” he said.
He added that he thought the government was “carefully balancing” the two priorities.
