Tokyo Olympic official to raise possibility of delay: Kyodo

Japanese Olympic organising committee executive member Haruyuki Takahashi's remarks about postponing the games prompted other Japanese officials to throw water on the possibility of a delay. PHOTO: AFP

Updated

Published

Mar 11, 2020, 06:53 PM

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Japanese Olympic organising committee executive member Haruyuki Takahashi plans to propose at talks next month that the committee consider the possibility of postponing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the coronavirus outbreak, Kyodo reported Wednesday (March 11), citing a phone call with Takahashi.

"In light of the reality, we have to respond accordingly," Kyodo quoted Takahashi as saying.

Takahashi's remarks in a Wall Street Journal report that the games could be delayed by one or two years if unable to be held on schedule prompted other Japanese officials to throw water on the possibility of a delay earlier Wednesday.

Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto called postponement "inconceivable," while acknowledging that the final decision rests with the International Olympic Committee.

Tokyo 2020 organising committee president Yoshiro Mori said the committee isn't considering changing its plans, adding that he'd called Takahashi, who had apologised and told Mori he had misspoken, according to the Asahi newspaper.