Japan likely to proceed with Olympics, says ruling party heavyweight Yamamoto

Uncertainty still surrounds the Tokyo Games with opinion polls indicating a majority of the population of Japan are against them going ahead.

Yamamoto said that holding the Olympics would be good for the economy.

Japan is likely to proceed with the Tokyo Olympic Games as planned this summer even if there are no spectators, senior ruling party official Kozo Yamamoto said on Wednesday.

"Japan will hold the Games," Yamamoto, who is close to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told Reuters in an interview. "Holding the Games as scheduled is good for the economy."

Yamamoto, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) financial research committee, also said the government should compile an extra budget worth around 26 trillion yen ($239 billion) in October or November to cushion the economic blow from the COVID-19 pandemic.