Foreign Olympic volunteers not allowed to enter Japan

TOKYO -- Foreign volunteers will not be allowed to serve the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer, a countermeasure against COVID-19, organizers said here on Monday.

Tokyo 2020 organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto told Kyodo that foreign volunteers with "special skills" necessary for the smooth running of the Olympics and Paralympics might retain their positions and enter Japan under special entry rules.

Sources close to the matter said the exception could be made for "around 500 volunteers," who will be selected from a pool of about 2,000 people living overseas, Kyodo said.

About 80,000 volunteers will work for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, 10 percent of whom are foreign nationals.

Organizers have already barred overseas spectators from entering Japan during the Games.