With Suga's full-court press, optimism grows that Tokyo will hold Games

FILE PHOTO: The giant Olympic rings are pictured two days before the start of the one-year countdown to the Tokyo Olympics that have been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the waterfront area at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, Japan July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Aggressive lobbying by Japanese premier Yoshihide Suga has bolstered expectations within the government that the Olympic Games will go ahead next year, multiple insiders said, marking a sharp turnaround from just a few months ago.

Suga has more flexibility in talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), one of the sources said, because he is not tied to the promises of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, who told the public the Games would be held in "full form".