TOKYO: Japan's economic loss from a possible cancelation of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this year would reach over 4 trillion yen, according to a private-sector estimate.

Whether the quadrennial sporting events will be held as planned or not is drawing attention worldwide amid the global spread of the new coronavirus.

Katsuhiro Miyamoto, honorary professor at Kansai University, a private institution, estimates the amount of economic loss in case the Tokyo Games are called off at about 4.5 trillion yen.

Costs to run the games would be lost, and effects from spending by spectators and purchases of television sets would disappear if the events are canceled, he said. In addition, benefits from Olympic and Paralympic legacies, such as those related to tourism, would evaporate, according to Miyamoto.

In case the Olympic and Paralympic Games are postponed by one year, negative effects would total 640 billion yen, including additional promotion and other costs, Miyamoto said.

According to Toshihiro Nagahama, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, a cancelation of Olympic and Paralympic Games would cause the host nation to lose about 3.2 trillion yen in the year in which the games were slated. He based the projection on economic growth data in Olympic and Paralympic host nations since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Shunsuke Kobayashi, senior economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research, said that if the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are put off, that would force people buying condominiums built as accommodations for athletes in the Olympic village to postpone moving into the properties after the games, resulting in massive financial losses.

Moreover, Olympics-related goods and labor procurement plans would be taken back to the drawing board, affecting incomes and employment, he said.

JIJI Press