Tokyo 2020 organizers announced on Friday that they will continue to make preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games during the second state of emergency in the Japanese capital and three surrounding prefectures.

"We will continue to proceed carefully with all necessary work while adopting the required safety and security measures, in order to progress preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Games due to be held this summer," the organizers said in a statement.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared the state of emergency from January 8 to February 7 for the Tokyo metropolitan area including Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures on Thursday afternoon, authorizing tougher measures to fight a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

Tokyo 2020 chiefs have already said that another postponement of the Games – set to begin on July 23 – is out of the question.

And they insisted on Friday that the emergency would not derail plans.

"This declaration of emergency offers an opportunity to get the COVID-19 situation under control and for Tokyo 2020 to plan for a safe and secure Games this summer, and we will proceed with the necessary preparations accordingly," organizers said in a statement.

Suga said on Thursday that Japan is committed to holding a "safe and secure" Olympics, and that he believes public mood will change when the country begins vaccinations, currently scheduled for late next month.

However, International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound said he could not "be certain" the Games will go ahead.

Asked about the prospects that the Games will open on July 23, the 78-year-old Canadian told the BBC: "I can't be certain because the ongoing elephant in the room would be the surges in the virus."

Pound, who has been on the IOC since 1978, predicted 10 months ago in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) that the Games might be canceled because it could not be postponed considering its size.

"You just don't postpone something on the size and scale of the Olympics. There are so many moving parts, so many countries and different seasons, and competitive seasons, and television seasons.

"You're probably looking at a cancellation," AP quoted him as saying.

The Olympics was pushed back by one year on March 24, nearly four weeks after the Pound interview.

Tokyo 2020 organizers are in a race against time to ensure that test events can restart on March 4 as rescheduled. The first event will be the International Swimming Federation (FINA) artistic swimming Olympic qualification tournament from March 4 to 7 at the Tokyo Aquatics Center. Overseas athletes have been expected to attend some of the test events.

(With input from agencies)

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