2021 Olympics: Japan is set to hold the Tokyo Games despite rumors of cancellation

“We are determined to work closely with the Tokyo metropolitan government, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee to achieve Olympic safety and security,” Suga said.

Other Olympic officials were quick to deny the Times’ allegations.

“Unfortunately I need to address an unfounded rumor that the Tokyo Games can be canceled,” Matt Carroll, chief executive of the Australian Olympic Committee, told reporters on Friday. “Incorrect rumors are creating more anxiety for the athletes in our sport. The Tokyo Games are continuing. The fires will be lit on July 23, 2021. The Japanese Prime Minister reiterated this this afternoon.”

In a tweet on Twitter, Canadian Olympic Games president David Shoemaker said that his team “is not aware of any decision taken by the Japanese government, as it is said.”

“The Canadian Olympic Committee is confident that the Games can be organized safely and successfully given what has been learned in sport over the past several months and the focus that the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee have placed on countermeasures to Covid-19,” he said. “We continue our preparation to participate in Tokyo 2020 with a focus on the health and safety of athletes, their families and their communities.”