Tokyo 2020 Postponement Could Be Allowed, Japan’s Olympic Minister Indicates

Seiko Hashimoto, the Japanese Olympic Minister, has admitted that this summer’s 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo could be postponed due to the coronavirus.

With less than five months to go until the Games is set to commence, the prospect of it going ahead is under increasing threat on a daily basis as the virus continues to spread across the globe, with no clear sign of stopping at the current point in time.

Numerous sporting events around the world have now been postponed or cancelled due to the ongoing health crisis and many have been taking a look ahead to Tokyo, despite Thomas Bach, President of the IOC last week stating that they are ‘fully committed’ to the Games going ahead at the correct time.

Hashimoto said: “We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned.”

However, she added that Tokyo’s Olympic contract “calls for the Games to be held within 2020” and that “could be interpreted as allowing a postponement”.

Any delays to the Olympics could of course have huge knock-on effects for the athletes that have qualified for this summer’s event, but as the virus continues to expand across the planet it is clearly something being considered very carefully by sporting organisations around the world.