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Tokyo Organizers Quietly Plan for Potential Olympics Delay, Sources say

Reuters

   TOKYO - Tokyo 2020 organizers have started drafting possible
   alternatives to holding the Olympics this summer, two sources familiar
   with the talks said, in contrast to the Japanese government's stance
   that postponement is not an option.

   While the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted sports events around the
   world, Japan has been steadfast in saying that the Games will go on.
   The top government spokesman Wednesday said Tokyo wasn't preparing for
   postponement.

   Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has staked his legacy as Japan's
   longest-serving premier on the Games and is hoping for a boom in
   tourism and consumer spending. At risk is more than $3 billion in
   domestic sponsorship, an Olympic record, and some $12 billion spent on
   preparations.

   "Finally, we have been asked to make a simulation in case of a
   postponement," said one of the sources, an official close to the
   organizing committee who is involved in drafting the scenarios.

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