Olympics will go ahead regardless of pandemic situation: Tokyo 2020 president

Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori delivers a New Year's address in Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Mori tried on Tuesday to reassure the public that the postponed games will open in just over six months. (Kyodo News via AP)

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said on Tuesday that Japan would hold the Summer Olympics regardless of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and was working closely with the International Olympic Committee to make them happen.

“We will hold the Olympics, regardless of how the coronavirus (situation) looks,” Mori said, adding that the discussion should focus on how, not whether, the Olympics will happen.

“We must consider new ways of hosting the Olympics” as a part of that, he said.

Mori added that while working together had its difficulties, Tokyo 2020 organisers and the IOC had a strong relationship.

In this Sept. 24, 2020, file photo, IOC President Thomas Bach, on the screen, speaks remotely with Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori, left, and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, right, during an on-line meeting focused on how to pull off the delayed Tokyo Games, in Tokyo. (Du Xiaoyi/Pool Photo via AP)

Mori was speaking at the start of a meeting with Japan’s Sports Research Commission.

The 2020 Games were postponed last year due to the global spread of the novel coronavirus.

A recent spike in infections in Japan that triggered a state of emergency in some areas has fuelled speculation about whether the rescheduled Games can be held this summer.