Tokyo 2020 organisers have been asked to make "alternative plans" if the summer Olympic Games need to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to two sources familiar with the process.
The revelations are in stark contrast to the official position taken by the Japanese government, who have been steadfast in their stance that the Games will go ahead as planned and that postponement is not an option.
While the coronavirus outbreak has disrupted sports events around the world, Japan insisted the Games will go on, with a top government spokesman saying last Wednesday that Tokyo was not preparing for postponement.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has staked his legacy as Japan's longest-serving premier on the Games and is hoping for a boom in tourism and consumer spending. At risk is more than $3 billion (Dh11bn) in domestic sponsorship, an Olympic record, and some $12bn spent on preparations.
"Finally, we have been asked to make a simulation in case of a postponement," one of the sources, an official close to the organising committee who is involved in drafting the scenarios, told Reuters.
Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
"We are making alternative plans - plan B, C, D - looking at different postponement time-frames," said the official, adding the scenarios included cost estimates for different delays.
Neither Tokyo 2020 organisers nor the International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately responded to a request for comment. The government of Japan could not be reached for comment.
The options, which include scaling back the Games or holding them without spectators, would be debated by the organising committee at the end of March, the official said.
The second source, who is also close to the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, confirmed that postponement was being discussed, including delays of one or two years.
Some organising staff were holding out hope for a delay of a month or 45 days, said the official involved in drafting the scenarios.
A final decision on postponement will have to come from the IOC but Japan's stance also matters.
The IOC and its chief, Thomas Bach, say the Games will go ahead as planned, drawing criticism from athletes who say that could be a health risk.
Two other insiders, both senior members of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, echoed those concerns. One of them, a board member of the organising committee, said the decision to postpone should be made quickly.
"The more they push the decision away ... more and more preparations have to be made - this will cause cancellation fees to go through the roof," the board member said.
Bach recently appeared to shift his tone, saying the IOC was "considering different scenarios".
Japan's Nikkei newspaper said in a report on its website on Sunday that the IOC will hold a board meeting this week, as calls from sporting organisations for the event to be postponed gathered pace.
The official involved in drafting scenarios said a long delay could spark complaints from older athletes and require keeping sponsors on board for longer. Another headache is the Olympic village, due to be converted to apartments after the Games.
The summer 2021 calendar is already crowded while 2022 will see the football World Cup and the Beijing Winter Olympics.
In Tokyo, there is a sense delay may be inevitable. Finance Minister Taro Aso has compared Tokyo 2020 to the 1940 Olympics cancelled by the First World War and the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games.
"It's a problem that's happened every 40 years," he said. "It's the cursed Olympics - and that's a fact."
