The arrival of the Olympic torch in Japan next Friday was supposed to be a celebration, heralding the countdown to a spectacular Tokyo 2020 opening partyin the new national stadium in July.
Instead, the flickering ceremonial flame could soon come to symbolise a fading Olympic dream amid mounting fears that the coronavirus pandemic will sabotage the world’s largest sporting event.
The cancellation or postponement of the Games — estimated to have cost nearly £24bn to organise — could well pitch Japan, where the economy was already slumping before the onset of Covid-19, into recession.
Few have as much riding on the Olympics as Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He has staked his legacy on the glory of the Games and pinned hopes for economic
Rachel Johnson: OMG! They made my brother prime minister
Virus mutates into US import as Beijing tries to shift blame
