<p class="bodytext">Next year's coronavirus-postponed Olympics could be held in front of a "limited number of spectators" to prevent the spread of infection, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto has said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Tokyo 2020 games are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, after a historic postponement forced by the global march of the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muto told BBC Sports that organisers were committed to holding the event in 2021, with no discussion of cancelling or postponing it further.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Everyone should focus on holding the event next year -- we're on the same page."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach was "not looking for" a Games held without any fans, but acknowledged smaller audiences might be possible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He may be thinking about a limited number of spectators with full consideration of social distancing," Muto said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We must build an environment where people feel safe. Athletes and the IOC family may require testing before/after entering Japan and (we need) strong medical systems around accommodation and transportation plans," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan currently bans visitors from more than 100 countries in a bid to limit the spread of the virus and Muto said it was "too optimistic to assume all restrictions will be gone, so we must think of other ways."</p>.<p class="bodytext">With just under a year to go until the postponed Games, Japanese citizens have expressed scepticism about whether the Olympics can or should be held.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Two polls in July found the majority of Japanese think the Games should be postponed again or cancelled altogether.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And several medical experts have suggested the Games will not be viable without a proven treatment or vaccine for the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muto said a vaccine would be "a benefit... (but) not a precondition."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Chairman of the Tokyo Co-ordination Committee John Coates sounded a positive note by saying the Games would go ahead with or without a vaccine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Organisers were "going ahead on the basis there won't be a vaccine," Coates told the Australia newspaper</p>.<p class="bodytext">He added that they were prepared "under whatever scenario we have to face, which will become clearer at the end of the year."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan has so far seen experienced a comparatively small coronavirus outbreak, but infections have been on the rise, particularly in the capital.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, speaking to Japan's Kyodo news agency on Wednesday, warned that "containing the new coronavirus inside the capital is a prerequisite" for holding the Games.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Next year's coronavirus-postponed Olympics could be held in front of a "limited number of spectators" to prevent the spread of infection, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto has said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Tokyo 2020 games are now scheduled to open on July 23, 2021, after a historic postponement forced by the global march of the pandemic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muto told BBC Sports that organisers were committed to holding the event in 2021, with no discussion of cancelling or postponing it further.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Everyone should focus on holding the event next year -- we're on the same page."</p>.<p class="bodytext">He said International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach was "not looking for" a Games held without any fans, but acknowledged smaller audiences might be possible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"He may be thinking about a limited number of spectators with full consideration of social distancing," Muto said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We must build an environment where people feel safe. Athletes and the IOC family may require testing before/after entering Japan and (we need) strong medical systems around accommodation and transportation plans," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan currently bans visitors from more than 100 countries in a bid to limit the spread of the virus and Muto said it was "too optimistic to assume all restrictions will be gone, so we must think of other ways."</p>.<p class="bodytext">With just under a year to go until the postponed Games, Japanese citizens have expressed scepticism about whether the Olympics can or should be held.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Two polls in July found the majority of Japanese think the Games should be postponed again or cancelled altogether.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And several medical experts have suggested the Games will not be viable without a proven treatment or vaccine for the virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Muto said a vaccine would be "a benefit... (but) not a precondition."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Chairman of the Tokyo Co-ordination Committee John Coates sounded a positive note by saying the Games would go ahead with or without a vaccine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Organisers were "going ahead on the basis there won't be a vaccine," Coates told the Australia newspaper</p>.<p class="bodytext">He added that they were prepared "under whatever scenario we have to face, which will become clearer at the end of the year."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Japan has so far seen experienced a comparatively small coronavirus outbreak, but infections have been on the rise, particularly in the capital.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, speaking to Japan's Kyodo news agency on Wednesday, warned that "containing the new coronavirus inside the capital is a prerequisite" for holding the Games.</p>