On February 18, then-Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto, who has competed in seven Olympics, four in the winter and three in the summer, was named president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games after a meeting of its executive board.   She replaced Mr. Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister who resigned following sexist comments, and was in turn succeeded as Olympics minister by Ms.Tamayo Marukawa. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach welcomed Ms. Hashimoto�fs appointment as "the perfect choice" for the job. Leaders of the Group of Seven countries, meeting at a virtual summit on February 19, said in a joint statement: �gWe support the commitment of Japan to hold the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 in a safe and secure manner this summer as a symbol of global unity in overcoming COVID-19.�h   Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters after the meeting: �gI was able to gain support from all the leaders. It was so encouraging.�h   The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were originally slated for the summer of 2020 but were rescheduled to start on July 23 and August 24, 2021, respectively, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. With the new Olympics chief in place and the G7 endorsement, all-out efforts are going to be made over the coming five months to prepare for the games this summer. Some self-proclaimed experts forecast the games would be cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Personally, I want them to refrain from making such half-baked predictions. In the long history of the Olympics, there have been a few cases in which the games were scaled back due to political issues, while two were cancelled during World War II. But this time around, we are in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. No wonder everybody is confused, including the games�f organizers. We need to figure out what to do from various perspectives, including how we can invite athletes from all over the world and hold the games without spectators, if necessary. Now that the IOC, the Tokyo Organizing Committee, and the Tokyo metropolitan and Japanese governments have committed to holding the games this summer, it is important more than anything just to get on with the preparations in a positive and resolute manner. Japan is a peaceful country; we still have enough time. Those who supported holding the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo and all those Olympians who have worked for years getting ready to compete are watching closely to see what will happen.   It is easy to raise objections. But it is crucial now for all Japanese to demonstrate to the world that we are pulling out all the stops to prepare for the games. That is the mission of the host nation, and it provides Japan with a golden opportunity to impress upon the world that it is a country that can be relied upon, one that values courtesy and the spirit of �gomotenashi,�h or selfless hospitality.   It is my sincere hope that in 50 to 100 years from now, the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics will be marked in history as events Japan managed to host under the most challenging of circumstances. Let�fs stop making facile comments and unite in a final effort to realize the games this summer.