The Tokyo Games Organising Committee plans to transport the Olympic flame in a lantern by car instead of having it carried by torchbearers when the Japan leg of the torch relay starts later in the week, sources said Tuesday.

The torch relay will be held on a reduced scale and without spectators, with the decision aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus among people who would normally line the roads to watch the flame be carried past.

The change comes after the International Olympic Committee said Sunday that it will consider the postponement of this summer's Tokyo Games amid the pandemic.