Olympics-Early decision needed for any delay, organising member tells TBS

Any decision to delay the Olympics should be made before May, an organising committee board member told Japanese broadcaster TBS late on Wednesday, as doubts over the Summer Games may grow with the coronavirus having been labelled a pandemic.

Executive board member Haruyuki Takahashi's comments came just hours after the head of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, Yoshiro Mori, publicly chided him for remarks he first made to the Wall Street Journal that a delay of one or two years would be the most reasonable option if the coronavirus outbreak derailed the Summer Games. Organisers have been pushing a consistent message that the Games would not be cancelled or postponed, and Mori called Takahashi's suggestion "outrageous".

But speaking to TBS after Mori's news conference, Takahashi said: "If you think about the athletes, May would seem too late" to make a decision on any delay, according to the broadcaster. "We need to think about taking the first step, before the IOC (International Olympic Committee)." He added that the organising committee would probably discuss postponement at its next meeting later this month, TBS reported.

Takahashi and the Tokyo 2020 media office could not immediately be reached for comment on those remarks. Fears of a disruption to the Olympics could multiply after the World Health Organization (WHO) described the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic for the first time.

One of the most common strategies to contain the coronavirus is to avoid large gatherings, and major sporting events around the world have been cancelled or held without spectators. As of Wednesday, Japan had 620 cases and 15 deaths, excluding people on a cruise ship that was quarantined near Yokohama last month, according to the health ministry. Experts say the tally may be deceptively low due to the limited number of tests in Japan compared with many other countries.