Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has begun to shift his messaging on the Tokyo Olympics, in a sign he may have accepted that the deadly coronavirus will make it necessary to postpone the event planned to start in July.
Abe and his Cabinet, as well as the organizers and Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, had until days ago been unanimous in insisting the games would be staged as scheduled. But, following a Group of Seven leaders' video conference on the coronavirus Monday, Abe avoided commenting on the timing of the event.
"I want to hold the Olympics and Paralympics in their complete form, as proof that the human race will conquer the new coronavirus, and I gained support for that from the G7 leaders," he told reporters after the event.
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