International Olympic Committee senior official John Coates said the postponed Tokyo Games might not go ahead in July 2021, even if a coronavirus vaccine emerges, Australian media reported Thursday.
Coates, who heads the IOC's coordination commission, said October will be a critical period for assessing whether Japan can host the games next year, according to The Australian newspaper.
Coates said Olympic organizers were facing "real problems" due to the sheer number of people converging on Tokyo from multiple countries, many of which are still in the depths of a public health crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.