TOKYO -- Japan is faced with the possibility of $6 billion in economic losses if the Tokyo Summer Games do not proceed as planned, now that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the International Olympic Committee acknowledged for the first time Monday that a postponement was on the table due to the coronavirus pandemic.
If the games are delayed, the overall domestic financial loss could reach 600 billion yen to 700 billion yen ($5.42 billion to $6.32 billion), private economists estimate. The impact would apply both to the nation -- which has invested heavily in making the Olympics a national showcase -- and to companies such as Bridgestone that have poured an estimated $3 billion into sponsorships.