In this July 17, 2020 photo, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee CEO Toshiro Muto speaks as he attends a news conference after giving a presentation to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about the rearrangement of the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games for next year, in Tokyo. (ISSEI KATO / POOL / AFP)

Toshiro Muto, chief executive of Tokyo’s Olympic organizing committee, told the Financial Times that the event will still take place next summer, and that the national government must take a larger role since a comprehensive virus strategy will be crucial.

“I don’t know what the state of coronavirus infections will be next summer, but the chances it is a thing of the past are not high. Rather, the important thing is to deliver an Olympics for people who must live with COVID-19,” the FT cited Muto as saying.