Japan's Olympic Minister Says Coronavirus Fears Could Postpone Tokyo 2020 Games

Japan's Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto has told the Japanese parliament that it could postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympics amid concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

Per MailOnline's Jack Bezants, the authority to postpone or cancel the Games lies with the International Olympic Committee per their hosting agreement with Japan, but Hashimoto suggested on Tuesday the Japanese government may be able to make the decision itself.

Asked about the Games by a lawmaker in the Japanese parliament, she said: "The contract calls for the Games to be held within 2020. That could be interpreted as allowing a postponement."

"We are doing all we can to ensure that the Games go ahead as planned," she added.

The Games are set to run from July 24 to August 9.

IOC member Dick Pound told the Associated Press in February that the body could make a late decision on whether to continue with the event:

However, per Anthony Trotter and Morgan Windsor of ABC News, the organising committee said on Monday it has "never discussed cancelling the Games."

On Monday, there had been 254 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Japan, with six people having died. Six more people from the 705 infected passengers aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which was quarantined at Yokohama, have also died.

The outbreak has disrupted sporting events around the world.

Following an outbreak in Italy of 1,835 confirmed cases, from which 52 people had died as of Monday, five Serie A matches have been postponed until May, including Juventus' key title clash with Inter Milan.

Football in Switzerland has been even more heavily affected:

Per Bezants, the budget for the Tokyo Games stands at 1.35 trillion yen ($12.51 billion).

The Japanese government is providing 120 billion yen ($1.11 billion) for the construction of the Olympic Stadium and a further 30 billion yen ($278 million) in funding for the Paralympics, which are set to run from August 25 to September 6.