TOKYO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Friday expressed her hope that the venue for the marathon and race walk events in the Tokyo Olympics will be changed back to the Japanese capital from the northern city of Sapporo.

"Tokyo citizens want" the marathon and race walk to take place in Tokyo, she told reporters.

Koike made the remark after the International Olympic Committee made a decision earlier this week to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics by about a year amid the new coronavirus pandemic.

The IOC last year decided to move the marathon and race walk venue to Sapporo, the capital of the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido, to protect athletes and spectators from Tokyo's scorching summer heat.

Koike said that new dates for the Tokyo Olympics should be considered based on factors including the availability of facilities, as well as when the coronavirus pandemic can be contained.

JIJI Press