Olympic flame lands in Japan as rising cases add to global fears

TOKYO－The Olympic flame arrived in Japan to a scaled-down welcoming ceremony on Friday as doubts grew over whether the Tokyo Games this summer will go ahead on schedule with the coronavirus pandemic causing global chaos.

The flame, carried in a tiny canister from Greece, reached Japan aboard a white aircraft painted with the inscription "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay" along its side. The tail section was adorned with the refrain "Hope Lights our Way".

The number of infections in Japan stood at 965 as of Friday, with two new cases reported in Hyogo of western Japan.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said it would "not be responsible" and "be premature" to postpone the Games when "we do not have any recommendation from the task force".

Kaori Yamaguchi, an executive board member of the Japanese Olympic Committee, was the latest prominent figure to call for a postponement, citing the difficulties faced by athletes.

Yamaguchi said the IOC is "opening itself up to the criticism that it is not putting athletes first" by asking them to train under these conditions.

Separately, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Thursday that the government plans to donate about $137 million to a number of international agencies including the World Health Organization.

Through the donation, Motegi said Japan hopes to expand cooperation and collaboration with international organizations on healthcare, Japan's Kyodo News Agency reported.

In South Korea, all arrivals from Europe since March 15 have been required to self-isolate for two weeks as part of efforts to guard against imported cases of the virus.

The country's health authorities are also considering expanding such measures to passengers from the United States and Asian countries.

Anyone, regardless of nationality, who violates the rules on self-isolation will be punished under domestic laws, said Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official. Offenders will face a fine of up to $2,390 for any breach of the self-isolation rules.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 87 newly detected cases on Friday, taking the country's total to 8,652.

In Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, the virus had infected 19,664 people and killed 1,433, according to an official tally on Friday.

In Africa, countries are adopting more strict measures as the coronavirus' spread threatens to turn the continent of 1.3 billion people into an alarming new front for the pandemic.

Nigeria said on Thursday it would shut schools and limit religious meetings in its economic hub Lagos and capital Abuja, while South Africa slashed a key interest rate to help shore up businesses.

Also on Thursday, Senegal closed its airspace, and Angola and Cameroon shut air, land and sea borders. Rwanda blocked all commercial flights for a month and Sierra Leone will suspend all flights from Saturday until further notice.

So far, 36 of Africa's 54 countries have cases, with the total topping 720.

Agencies - Xinhua