The sudden decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics for about a year was made in a phone call late Tuesday night between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
Abe aggressively pursued negotiations at the highest level due to concern that if the world was not given a sense of direction soon, the prospect of canceling the Games could emerge.
"Japan wants to faithfully fulfill its responsibilities as a host country," Abe told reporters after the call, wearing a relieved expression.
According to government officials, the phone call with Bach came out of a strong desire by Abe, who values early consultations, to "strike while the iron is hot."
The IOC had said it would decide whether to delay the Games within four weeks, but there was a sense this period was too long.
A source in the Prime Minister's Office said Abe took the call with Bach not knowing how the IOC president would respond. Some people close to Abe were hesitant to put a specific figure on the delay, sources said.
"100% agreed." When Bach gave his full support to delaying the Games for about a year, the faces of Yoshiro Mori, Tokyo Organizing Committee president and former prime minister, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and others in attendance immediately brightened.
Abe's move to push back the event was triggered by remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 12.
Speaking with reporters at the White House Trump said, "I think if you ... make it a year later, that's better than doing it with no crowd." Immediately afterward, Abe spoke with Trump on the phone, raising the idea of a postponement for the first time with someone outside his administration, sources said. Trump promised to give his "1,000%" support, sources said.
Abe's inclination toward delaying was confirmed in a teleconference with the leaders of the Group of Seven nations on March 16. His call to hold the Games in a "perfect form" effectively won support for a postponement from the heads of state.
"Uniting the G7 leaders was a great help in working on the IOC," a senior government official said.
Another concern for Abe was bringing the Olympic torch from Greece. As Europe was being pummeled by the new coronavirus, a special aircraft carrying the torch arrived safely at the Air Self-Defense Force Matsushima Base on Friday.
Abe reportedly told people close to him, "Securing the torch guarantees [the Games] will be held in Japan."
Abe, who considers the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics an important political legacy, was most concerned about being pressured to cancel the games if the IOC was slow to make a decision.
He was also worried that if they insisted on going ahead, the Games could become a "negative memory" if players from different countries declined to participate or the events were held with no spectators.
However, some were calling for the Games to be delayed for two years. These included Haruyuki Takahashi, an executive board member of the organizing committee, who said, "The most realistic choice is one or two years."
A two-year postponement would make it relatively easy to secure venues. Yet some said Abe chose one year because his term as Liberal Democratic Party president ends at the end of September next year.
Abe succeeded in obtaining a pledge from Bach that the Games would be held by the summer of 2021.
After the call, Mori reportedly shook Abe's hand, telling him, "That's good, Abe, my boy" and Koike gave the prime minister a fist bump.
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