Why cancelling the Tokyo Olympics this summer could be an option

An advertising billboard erected in Nairobi by a local mobile provider bears a photo of Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya's Olympic and world marathon champion, is photographed while people walk by in Nairobi on October 8, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

Secretary-General of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Toshihiro Nikai said Thursday that cancelling the Tokyo Olympics this summer could be an option if the COVID-19 situation continues to worsen.

Nikai, the No. 2 leader of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's ruling party, said in a TV show yet to be aired that cancelling the Games may be an option if the spread of coronavirus infections forces organisers to think it would be difficult to hold the event, according to Kyodo News.