A woman walks by the Olympic Rings near the National Stadium in Tokyo on June 9, 2021. Japan has announced that the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead under a state of emergency and without any spectators at events in the capital. "We must take stronger steps to prevent another nationwide outbreak, also considering the impact of coronavirus variants," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Thursday at a task force meeting after finalizing the decision. The emergency will begin Monday and last until Aug. 22, although it could be lifted earlier, Suga added, if the pandemic situation improves. Suga apologized that the new emergency was being declared some three weeks after the last one was lifted and for the burdens it would put on Japan's population.