According to a report by The Times on Thursday, the Japanese government has privately concluded the Tokyo Olympics will be cancelled. They say the government’s focus is now on securing the games for the city in the next available year, 2032.

According to the report, an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition in Japan has said there is agreement within the government that the games, which have already been postponed by a year, will not go ahead. The aim now is to find a way of announcing the cancellation while saving face, and to leave open the possibility of Tokyo hosting the games at a later date.

“No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult,” The Times’ source said. “Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen.”

IOC President Thomas Bach earlier reaffirmed his commitment to staging the games this summer, saying in an interview with Kyodo News on Thursday: “We have at this moment, no reason whatsoever to believe that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will not open on the 23rd of July in the Olympic stadium in Tokyo.”

According to Reuters, organisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. The IOC and Japanese government vowed this week to press ahead with preparations for the Games, scheduled to open July 23.