Crown prince to attend Tokyo closing ceremony in place of emperor

Japan's Crown Prince Akishino will attend the closing ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics in place of his elder brother, Emperor Naruhito.

The announcement was made by the Imperial Household Office on Friday.

The closing ceremony will be held at the Olympic Stadium on August 8 without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Emperor Naruhito had declared the Games open at the stadium last Friday. But unlike 1964, when Naruhito's grandfather had opened the first Summer Games in Tokyo, the word "iwai" (celebration) was missing from the Japanese-language opening declaration.

The absence of the word reflected the current mood among the Japanese public, which is deeply divided over whether the Games should be held amid the pandemic.

A leading official in the Imperial court had recently caused a stir when he told the public that, in his estimation, Emperor Naruhito shared the concerns of many subjects about the spread of the coronavirus during the Olympic Games.

On Thursday, the number of new infections in Tokyo rose for the third day in a row to a high of 3,865 cases. Nationwide, the Olympic host recorded more than 10,000 cases for the first time.