The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering postponing the Tokyo Games and will make a decision in the next four weeks, but says cancellation is not on the agenda.

"We are committed to the success of these Games," IOC president Thomas Bach told the New York Times on Friday.

"We don't know what the situation will be. Of course, we are considering different scenarios, but we are contrary to many other sports organizations or professional leagues in that we are four and a half months away from the Games."

Bach's comments were echoed by Japanese Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto, who stated, "the IOC and organizing committee are not considering cancellation or a postponement, absolutely not at all."

The IOC released a statement on Sunday declaring it will "step up its scenario-planning for the Olympic Games" and reiterated its reluctance to cancel the event.

"There is a dramatic increase in cases and new outbreaks of COVID-19 in different countries on different continents. This led the [Executive Board] to the conclusion that the IOC needs to take the next step in its scenario-planning.

"The IOC EB emphasized that a cancellation of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would not solve any of the problems or help anybody. Therefore, cancellation is not on the agenda."

Many athletes have voiced their concerns about the Games going forward, including world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson who admitted it is "impossible" to train, with Olympic pole vault gold medallist Katerina Stefanidi adding that athletes are "risking their health".

Elsewhere, USA Track and Field (USATF) and USA Swimming are among the various associations calling for the event to be pushed back until 2021 in light of the coronavirus pandemic.