Tokyo 2020 to mark one year countdown to Olympics with video message

TOKYO -- The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee will mark the one-year countdown to the postponed Olympic Games with a video message at the New National Stadium on Thursday July 23.

The committee said that the message will show respect and gratitude for all those supporting the games and support for the athletes aiming to participate in the games which has been pushed back by one year due to the global spread of COVID-19.

The event, which is closed to the public, will take place at 8pm, the exact time when the Olympics will open on the night of July 23, 2021.

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori pledged on Friday that the Japanese capital will host a "safe and secure" games although Tokyo's daily COVID-19 cases hit a new record of 293, following the previous day's record of 286.

Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike reiterated calls for residents and businesses to take measures to prevent the virus from spreading.

Mori, who reported along with CEO Toshiro Muto to the IOC session held remotely, told reporters at a news conference Friday night that the games cannot be canceled.

"If you have common knowledge, you should understand that if the games are canceled, it is going to create a lot of waste," he said.

"You will easily know it will be two times or three times the cost (of hosting the games). "

Muto said that Tokyo 2020 will begin discussions about countermeasures against COVID-19 in September and details are expected to be known at the end of this year.

"Around December we will have the general idea about what will have to be done," he said.