The postponed Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start on July 23 next summer.

Japan’s Games minister Seiko Hashimoto said Tuesday that the postponed Tokyo Olympics must be staged next summer “at any cost,” considering the efforts made by athletes and others involved.

“All the people involved with the games are working together to prepare, and the athletes are also making considerable efforts toward next year under the circumstances they’ve been handed,” Hashimoto told reporters during a press conference, per Kyodo News.

“I think we have to hold the games at any cost,” she said. “I want to concentrate all our efforts on measures against the coronavirus.”

Hashimoto’s comments came in response to International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates, head of the IOC’s coordination commission, stating on Monday that the Games “will take place with or without COVID” as planned starting on July 23, 2021.

Hashimoto, a former Olympic speed skater, is the latest