Postponing Olympics 'would cost Japan about 600 billion yen'

A postponement of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympic Games would cost Japan 640 to 670 billion yen (5.8 billion dollars to 6.1 billion dollars), Japanese experts say. Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

A postponement of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and the Paralympic Games would cost Japan 640 to 670 billion yen (5.8 billion dollars to 6.1 billion dollars), Japanese experts say. Photo: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Published Mar 23, 2020

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TOKYO – A postponement of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and the

Paralympic Games would cost Japan 640 to 670 billion yen (5.8 billion

dollars to 6.1 billion dollars), Japanese experts say.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) acknowledged it was

considering postponing the Games due to the coronavirus pandemic,

while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the Games cannot be

held under current circumstances.

If the IOC decides to postpone the 2020 Games, that would cost Japan

about 640.8 billion yen, said Kansai University economics professor

emeritus Katsuhiro Miyamoto.

The cancellation of the Games altogether would cost the country

around 4.5 trillion yen, Miyamoto estimated, though the IOC and Abe

have said that is not on the agenda.

SMBC Nikko Securities chief economist Junichi Makino told the Nikkei

Business Daily a postponement of the Olympics would cost Japan 670

billion yen and that cancellation would sap 7.8 trillion yen from

gross domestic product.

The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 24 to August 9

and the Paralympic Games from August 25 to September 6.

dpa

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