Olympics: Japan official says Games must be held next year 'at any cost'

FILE PHOTO: Japan’s Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto wears a protective face mask as she attends an upper house parliamentary session, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tokyo, Japan April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - The rearranged Tokyo Games must be held "at any cost" in 2021, Japan's Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference, Hashimoto said the Games should be held for the benefit of the athletes, regardless of the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.