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he Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games president, Seiko Hashimoto, has told BBC Sport there is a 100% chance of the Tokyo Olympics beginning on 23 July as scheduled.

This comes despite recent news 10,000 out of 80,000 volunteers have quit ahead of the start of the Games, and public opinion polls in Japan continue to show the majority of the country’s population want the Games to be cancelled or postponed again.

A large percentage of Japan also currently remains under a declared state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite this, Hashimoto said the country cannot postpone the event again.

“I believe that the possibility of these Games going on is 100% that we will do this,” Hashimoto said.

“The question right now is how are we going to have an even more safe and secure Games.

“The Japanese people are feeling very insecure and at the same time probably feel some frustration at us talking about the Olympics and I think that is giving rise to more voices opposing having the Games in Tokyo.

“The biggest challenge will be how we can control and manage the flow of people.

“If an outbreak should happen during the Games times that amounts to a crisis or an emergency situation then I believe we must be prepared to have these Games without any spectators.

“We are trying to create as complete a bubble situation as possible so we can create a safe and secure space for people who come in from overseas as well as people who are in Japan, the residents and citizens of Japan,” she said.

With under 50 days to go before the start of the Olympics, Japan currently has recorded more than 746,000 cases and more than 13,000 deaths.

With an estimated 10,000 volunteers stepping down, the Games organising committee has said the remaining 70,000 volunteers will be able to deliver an Olympic Games.

The majority of volunteers who stepped down cited concerns over new COVID-19 variants, as well as Japan’s ongoing state of emergency, which is currently due to last until 20 June.