Japan's Prime Minister will speak with the Olympics chief tonight
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to hold a phone call with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at 8 p.m. Tokyo time, Abe's office said, as calls for both the IOC and Japanese government to postpone the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo grow louder.
Abe and his ministers had previously resisted calls to either cancel or delay the Games, which are scheduled to start on July 24. But as other major sports leagues and events worldwide canceled and postponed tournaments and games, pressure has mounted for the IOC to do the same for the quadrennial competition.
Abe told lawmakers Monday that postponing the Games is a possibility, the first time he has publicly taken such a position.
Japan and the IOC have faced calls to postpone the Games in recent days from several athletes and countries.
The IOC said a final decision on postponement will be made within four weeks, due to the vast complexities of rescheduling a massive global sporting event like the Olympics.