As per the reports from various media outlets on Friday, the Japanese government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will have to be canceled because of Covid-19.

An unnamed senior member of Japan’s government admitted the focus is now on securing the event for Tokyo in the next available year, 2032.

The Games were placed in further confusion earlier this month after Tokyo declared a state of emergency due to an increasing number of coronavirus cases, and public opinion has swayed strongly towards canceling the event altogether.

On Thursday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Thomas Bach, said “there is no plan B” over the staging of the sporting occasion, which is due to start on July 23.

About 15,000 international athletes are expected to come together in Tokyo before the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be started on August 24.

Organizers expect a decision to be made in the coming weeks regarding whether the coronavirus risks have decreased enough to let spectators attend the Games.

Previously, senior IOC member Dick Pound had proposed athletes should be at the frontline for vaccines to boost the chances of the Olympics going ahead, and this statement of his received a backlash from the public, health experts, and athletes themselves.