Determined to host Olympics next year: Japan PM

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday Japan is determined to host the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after the games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Games were originally scheduled for this summer, but were put off for a year in March by the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government.

"In the summer of next year, Japan is determined to host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games as proof that humanity has defeated the pandemic," Suga said in a recorded message.

"I will continue to spare no effort in order to welcome you to Games that are safe and secure," Suga said in his debut speech to the United Nations as Japan's new leader.

Suga became prime minister this month after Shinzo Abe stepped down because of poor health.

Organizers of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday proposed cutting back the number of staff at next year's Summer Games and shortening the opening period for training venues, as part of a plan to hold a streamlined event amid the pandemic.