The exclusion of overseas spectators from this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics amid the pandemic, some observers say, is a result of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's hope to avoid losing further political ground ahead of a general election that must be called by this fall.
As Suga's administration scrambles to contain the coronavirus, with the emergence of new variants becoming a fresh source of concern while uncertainty lingers over when COVID-19 vaccines will reach the entire population, he has been treading carefully not to invite more criticism over the government's handling of the pandemic.
More than a week before a formal agreement was reached with the International Olympic Committee during a virtual meeting on Saturday, the government internally decided to bar foreign spectators, a number that would have totaled an estimated 1 million, even though doing so is a heavy blow to the country's tourism sector.