Japan's PM laments taking heat for hosting Olympics despite pandemic

FILE PHOTO: Visitors try to take photos in front of the Olympic Rings monument outside the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) headquarters near the National Stadium, the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga lamented on Wednesday drawing so much criticism for Japan's hosting of the Olympics with the COVID-19 crisis unabated, while a newspaper reported that local spectators may be allowed to attend.

Many Japanese and medical experts oppose staging the 2020 Games as planned from July 23, after already being postponed a year, as their nation suffers a fourth infection wave.