Tokyo Olympics may face 1-2 year delay over coronavirus
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A delay of one or two years would be the “most feasible” option if the Tokyo Olympics cannot be held this summer due to the global outbreak of the coronavirus, a member of the organizing committee’s executive board has told Reuters.
Haruyuki Takahashi, one of more than two dozen members of the Tokyo 2020 executive board, said the body had just started looking at scenarios for how the virus could affect the Games.
Takahashi has earlier told the Wall Street Journal that the board had not discussed the impact of the virus, having last met in December before the epidemic spread.
Organizers have been pushing a consistent message that the Games would not be canceled or postponed but sponsors who have pumped in billions of dollars have grown increasingly nervous about how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the event.
The Japanese Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill that would enable Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to declare a state of emergency, if needed, as Japan scrambles to stop the spread of the new coronavirus.
Abe, who faced criticism for being too relaxed in his initial response to the outbreak, has sought the power to prepare for a “worst case scenario.”
His administration also adopted on Tuesday a fresh emergency package valued at around ¥1 trillion ($9.6 billion) for businesses battered by the spread of the virus. The measure features ¥500 billion in zero-interest loans for small and midsize companies short of cash due to sharp falls in sales.
