The attacks being leveled at the Tokyo Olympics are "political posturing," former International Olympic Committee Vice President Dick Pound said on Wednesday, insisting the beleaguered extravaganza should and would go ahead in July.

The only question is the matter of fans being allowed to attend which Pound, an IOC member, said was "kind of an operational detail" and not crucial to the whole concept of staging the games.

The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, an official partner of the Tokyo Olympics, called for the games to be canceled in an editorial on Wednesday.