The International OlympicCommittee has announced it is considering a possible postponement of the TokyoGames and will finalise a decision within four weeks as the coronaviruspandemic continues to spread.

The IOC said discussions wouldinclude an option of pushing back the July 24 start date or even moving theGames by at least a year, but said cancelling the event would not solveproblems or help anybody.

The IPC, whose Tokyo Paralympicsare set for August 25 to September 6, said the IOC took the right decisionunder the circumstances.

"The next four weeks willprovide time to see if the global health situation improves, while giving awindow of opportunity to look into different scenarios should the dates of theGames need to be changed," IPC president Andrew Parsons said.