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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said for the first time on Monday that the Tokyo Olympic Games may need to be postponed if the event cannot be held in its “complete form” due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Reuters.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday after an emergency meeting that it is stepping up its “scenario planning” for the 2020 Games due to start on July 24, including a possible postponement.

Abe said while cancelling the Games was not an option, a delay was now on the cards if the event could not be held in its complete form.

“If that becomes difficult, we may have no option but to consider postponing the Games,” he told parliament.

He said he had conveyed his views to Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori on Sunday evening, who then discussed the issue with IOC President Thomas Bach.

Under mounting pressure from athletes, federations and national committees to postpone the Games, the IOC did a partial U-turn on Sunday after long insisting, with Tokyo organizers, that the Games would go ahead as planned.

Tokyo 2020 organizers have started drafting alternative dates for the Olympics, sources have told Reuters.

More than 14,600 people have died globally since the coronavirus outbreak began in China late last year, with the epicenter now in Europe.