TOKYO: The administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has effectively given up holding the Tokyo Olympics from July 24 as planned, and is beginning work to postpone the games by a year, sources said.

The move comes after the International Olympic Committee announced Sunday that it will consider postponing the quadrennial sporting event due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

"I believe the Tokyo Olympics should be held in its complete form, as proof that the world has won against the virus, and cancellation is impossible," Abe said at a Budget Committee meeting of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, on Monday.

"The IOC decision aligns with my thinking," he added. "If (the Olympics) cannot be held in its complete form, there is no choice but to decide on postponement."

The prime minister also said that a decision on the timing of the Tokyo Games should be made as soon as possible, emphasizing his intent to come to a conclusion swiftly in talks with the IOC and the Tokyo metropolitan government.

The Japanese government is starting to consider detailed plans to prepare for pushing back the Olympics by one year, the sources said. U.S. President Donald Trump also suggested that the games may be moved to next year.

Other possible options for postponement, such as delaying the games to this autumn or by two years, have also been floated. However, these options are seen as being unlikely, as the two-year postponement may require Olympic qualifier tournaments to be held again and there is no assurance that the pandemic will die down by this autumn.

The one-year postponement plan ensures that the Tokyo Games will be held before Abe's term as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ends in September 2021, making it politically convenient for the prime minister.

Specifically, the government plans to calculate the amount of compensation needed to cover losses in the private sector as a result of the postponement, as well as draw up plans to secure the venues and related facilities needed to hold the games next year.

The government also plans to work with the ruling parties to revise laws related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including a law that moved national holidays to before and after the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

The possibility of postponement first became a realistic option for the government after the World Health Organization declared on March 11 that the new coronavirus was a pandemic.

The government worked behind the scenes to avoid the cancellation of the games, waiting for the IOC to start considering postponement.

"There was no way Japan would propose postponement," a senior government official said.

Abe held talks over the phone three times on Sunday with former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee.

Through Mori, Abe told IOC President Thomas Bach of Japan's position to seek holding the Tokyo Games "in its complete form" before the IOC's extraordinary executive meeting the same day.

JIJI Press