The Japanese government’s economic stimulus package will take into account the fact that the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics will erase several trillion yen in demand this year, according to Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.

“If demand is repelled by next year, it means that the same amount of demand will evaporate this year. We will take this into account when drafting the stimulus package”, said Yasutoshi Nishimura in an interview.

On Tuesday (March 24th), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s proposal to postpone the Olympic Games to 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the program, the largest sporting event in the world was to be held from July 24 to August 9.

Economists cut their forecasts for the Japanese economy on Thursday (March 26th) after it became clear that exports to the export-oriented country were hit hard by overseas blockades.

According to the latest forecasts, Japan’s economy is in its weakest period since the financial crisis. Goldman Sachs Group Inc lowered its expectations for the country’s gross domestic product in 2020, forecasting a contraction of 3.1%. Barclays Plc, for its part, expects Japan’s economy to shrink by 2.6%.