The head of the organizing committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which were postponed to next year, says that it would be difficult to shorten the schedule for the torch relay across Japan.
Mori Yoshiro made the remarks during an interview with NHK on Tuesday.
The biggest challenge facing organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is how to secure the safety of athletes and spectators, as the peak of the global coronavirus pandemic is yet to be seen.
Thursday marks one year before the opening of the Games, which have been postponed due to the pandemic.
About two-thirds of the respondents to an NHK poll say the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics should be either postponed further or cancelled.
NHK conducted the telephone survey over the weekend. About 1,300 people responded.
The July Grand Sumo Tournament started at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena on Sunday.
The venue was moved from Nagoya to Tokyo to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.
An event to pray for the safety and success of the July Grand Sumo Tournament was held on Saturday at an arena in Tokyo. Only a limited number of sumo officials were allowed to attend due to the coronavirus threat.
Japan Sumo Association Chairman Hakkaku and other stable masters were among those who showed up at the Ryogoku Kokugikan hall.
Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have unveiled a new competition schedule for the Games, which were postponed to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The head of the Tokyo Organising Committee, Mori Yoshiro, made the announcement during a video conference of the International Olympic Committee on Friday.
The Japan Sumo Association says it will hold its July tournament in Tokyo with about 2,500 spectators, roughly 25 percent of the full capacity. The reduction is part of measures against the coronavirus outbreak.
The association made the announcement on Monday. The tournament will start on Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.
Japanese figure skater Hanyu Yuzuru has won the award for Most Valuable Skater from the International Skating Union, or ISU.
The international skating body made the announcement during an online ceremony on Saturday. It also announced the winners for the last season in six other categories of the newly-established ISU Skating Awards.
Officials of Japan's professional baseball and soccer leagues have agreed to welcome back fans to stadiums from Friday as scheduled, even as coronavirus numbers continue to rise.
The two sports' organizers held a joint task force meeting online on Monday that included infectious disease experts.
Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and reelected Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko have agreed to continue working closely together to contain the coronavirus. They also affirmed their cooperation for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Koike visited the prime minister's office on Monday morning after winning a second term in Sunday's gubernatorial election.
NHK has learned that organizers of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics have secured all venues for the games, which were postponed to next year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The organizers had been in talks with owners of the 43 venues, the athletes' village and other facilities.
The top J1 division of Japan's professional soccer league, J.League, which postponed all official matches in February in response to the coronavirus outbreak, has resumed play without spectators.
At Saitama Stadium, where the match between Urawa Reds and Yokohama F. Marinos was held, league and club officials disinfected their hands and had their body temperatures measured with a thermograph.
A senior official of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee says a final decision on whether to hold the Games or not can wait until sometime between March and June next year.
Endo Toshiaki, special representative of the committee's president, was speaking to reporters after he met Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan's karate governing body says it will redo some of its qualification processes for next year's Tokyo Olympics following a decision by the sport's international body.
The Japan Karatedo Federation announced on Monday that it will nullify the qualification of two athletes in the kumite category.