'No way we can hold it': Tokyo reacts to talk of Olympic delay

The Olympics rings are up and the cute wide-eyed mascots are plastered across billboards and commuter trains, but people in Tokyo are increasingly convinced the Games won't happen this summer.

After weeks of pressure from athletes and sports associations, the International Olympic Committee this weekend acknowledged postponement is a possibility, and on Monday Japan's prime minister said a decision to delay over the coronavirus may now be "inevitable".

For many in Tokyo, that hardly feels like news, after a steady drumbeat about the pandemic that has now infected more than 325,000 people and killed over 14,400 worldwide.

"There is no way we can hold it," 75-year-old Noriko Shuzui told AFP as she shopped in Tokyo's Ginza district on Monday.

"Even if Japan had overcome the virus, if the world hadn't we would receive no athletes, no spectators. No way we can do it."
"But we've got to take some measures."
"I think it's nonsense."
- 'Think about people's safety' -
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