Yoshiro Mori, president of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, denied on Wednesday the possibility of postponing the Games, responding to a report in The Wall Street Journal's electronic edition Tuesday that an executive board member of the committee had said that a delay of up to two years was a realistic option.
According to the report, Haruyuki Takahashi, a former official of major advertising company Dentsu Inc. and an executive board member of the committee, said in an interview with the Journal that if the spread of the new coronavirus makes it difficult for Japan to host the games this summer, the most realistic option would be to postpone it for a year or two.
Takahashi told The Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday that he only stated his personal opinion in the interview. However, he also said that he doesn't think cancellation is an option. "We need to consider whether to postpone [the Games] or power through. I think we are at the point where we should really start talking about such things," he said, indicating the need to discuss the issue at a board meeting scheduled to be held later this month.
Meanwhile, Mori rejected any major change to the Games when speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.
"[Takahashi] said something outrageous. Our basic stance is to proceed with the Olympics in a safe and secure manner, and we are not considering changing our plans at all," Mori said.
Seiko Hashimoto, the minister in charge of the Games, also denied the report on Wednesday at the House of Representatives Committee on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
"When I checked with the organizing committee, they said that they were not considering postponing the games and that preparations would proceed as planned," she said in response to questions from Yoshio Maki of the Democratic Party for the People.
"From an athlete's point of view, every athlete adjusts their condition for the event that happens once every four years. [The Games] can't be canceled or postponed." Hashimoto also expressed her view that the final decision rests with the International Olympic Committee and that it is important for the government to provide accurate information so that appropriate decisions can be made.
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