JOC President: One year Olympics postponement appropriate

Japan Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita on Wednesday said a one-year postponement of the Games is an appropriate extension considering the ongoing spread of the new coronavirus worldwide.

Yamashita encouraged athletes "not to give up", recalling the Moscow Olympics in 1980, when he was a promising judo athlete who was set to compete in the Games.

But the United States called for a boycott in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The Japan Olympic Committee decided its athletes would not participate.

Yamashita went on to compete in the 1984 Olympics and finished with a gold medal.

"Don't crumble, don't give up, motivate yourself once more, stay young at heart" Yamashita said.

"I hope they will take on the challenge next year."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The new coronavirus has caused a global pandemic that has sickened at least 422,000, killed 18,900 worldwide, crippled economies and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people in an effort to stop the virus from spreading further and overwhelming health care systems.