Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe has admitted that it would be impossible to hold the Olympics in 2021 unless the coronavirus is contained. 

Yoshiro Mori head of the 2020 games has said that if the game has to be delayed by another year to 2022 the games will have to be scrapped. With Japan under a state health emergency and public health experts voicing their concern about the games taking place the Japanese prime minister has now thrown in further speculation by sharing his concerns. 

The Japanese health Association has already said the games should not take place unless a vaccine is developed. But in a sign of a disagreement between Japan and the International Olympic Committee John Coates who is leading the IOC's coordination commission said the Games are 'not contingent on a vaccine'.

IOC president Thomas Bach for the first time on Wednesday hinted some changes will have to be made for the 2021 event. He said: "At this moment nobody knows what the realities of the post-coronavirus world will look like. What is clear however is that probably none of us will be able to sustain every single initiative or event that we were planning before this crisis hit". Bach also said the postponement will cost the IOC "several hundred million US dollars".