A torchbearer and actress Satomi Ishihara (right), one of the official ambassadors of the Tokyo 2020 torch relay, pose with the olympic torch during a rehearsal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch relay in Tokyo on Feb 15, 2020. (STR / JIJI PRESS / AFP)

TOKYO - Japan's Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto told reporters Monday that the Japanese leg of the Olympic torch relay for the summer Games, scheduled to start from Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday, will go ahead as planned.

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Hashimoto remarks confirming the Japanese leg of the torch relay came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe hinted at the possibility that the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games could be postponed this summer if they could not be held in their complete form.

Abe's comments followed those from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) saying that it is exploring a number of scenarios amid the global COVID-19 pandemic including postponing the Games.

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Canada, in another development, has said it will not send a team to the quadrennial Games to be hosted in Tokyo due to concerns over the global COVID-19 pandemic, local media reported.