Japan will hold the Summer Olympics Games by the summer of 2021 at latest, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday.
He made the comment in a briefing with reporters following a call with International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach.
Abe said that he and Bach agreed on the idea of delaying the Tokyo Olympics by about one year.
Tokyo had completed preparations when the virus started spreading across the world. Despite insisting for months the Games would go ahead as planned, Abe this week said a delay may be unavoidable if the events could not be held in a complete form.