IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics will happen in 2021 'with or without COVID'

The Tokyo Olympics will take place in 2021 "with or without COVID," International Olympic Committee vice president John Coates proclaimed in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

Coates, who leads the IOC's coordination commission for the Tokyo Games, said the 2020 Olympics were originally supposed to be known as the "Reconstruction Games," referring to Japan overcoming a major earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

"Now, very much, these will be the Games that conquered COVID, the light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

However, Japan's travel restrictions are still in place amid the global pandemic, and national support for the Olympics appears to be tepid.

A survey conducted by Kyodo News in July found that only 23.9% of Japanese residents thought the postponed Games should begin next July 23 as scheduled, according to SportBusiness. Another 36.4% of respondents preferred postponing the Games again while 33.7% said the Tokyo Olympics should be canceled.