Japan to Lose Some $1.4Bln Over Decision to Hold Tokyo Olympics Without Foreign Spectators

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Hosting this year's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games without foreign spectators would result in an almost 150 billion yen ($1.4 billion) economic loss for Japan, media report Sunday, citing national think tanks.

According to the economists at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, as cited by the Nikkei business newspaper, the economic effect that Tokyo hoped for from holding the Olympics would now be reduced by 150 billion yen. The same estimates were voiced by Takahide Kiuchi from the Nomura Research Institute in an interview with the NHK broadcaster.

On Saturday, organizers of the Tokyo Olympics announced that foreign spectators would not be permitted to enjoy the summer games in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 630,000 tickets to be returned.

The games in Tokyo were initially to be held in 2020 but postponed to July-August 2021.