Coates made the comment during a press conference streamed on YouTube today following an International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 executive project review meeting.

The meeting took place over teleconference after the decision to postpone Tokyo 2020 until 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

There will be negative consequences of the postponement related to costs, including securing agreements for venues, Coates said, but the Australian added the Games could provide a boost for Japan.

He suggested Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe would have viewed the postponed Olympic and Paralympic Games as an opportunity to emerge from the predicted economic downturn caused by the pandemic.

"If Japan is anywhere like the rest of the world where there is an economic downturn, a recession maybe, these Games are a very positive opportunity to be an economic stimulus," Coates said.

"These Games can be how you can kick-start the economy again.

"These Games can be the rebirth of the tourism industry and provide opportunities for your hotel operators and airlines.

"They will obviously provide jobs, with new events in the spring.

"Yes, there will be some negative impacts.

"Prime Minister Abe is a very smart man and I have no doubt that when he proposed we postpone the Games for one year, he had in mind the positive economic stimulus this would provide for Tokyo and Japan in what would otherwise be a downturn.

"I think there would be a lot of other cities and countries around the world wishing for a similar opportunity.

"These are the sorts of things world leaders are considering at the moment, projects which can kick-start economies.

"Prime Minister Abe is a leader in the world and I am suspecting this might have been in his mind."

Coates added that the IOC would work with the International Paralympic Committee, International Federations (IFs) and Tokyo 2020 to assess "all opportunities to explore the scope and service levels" at the Games to find cost savings.

He said the effort would be the "next level" of the IOC's New Norm reforms, which comprised of 118 recommendations aimed at reducing the costs associated with hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

No impact will be had on competition level, fields of play, the Olympic Village experience or athlete services, Coates added.

The Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission chairman said the parties would determine the "must haves and the nice to haves" for the Games, with cost savings to come from the latter.

This could include areas such as live celebration sites across Japan, with Coates highlighting the need for separate security measures for these public events.

He also mentioned potential costs related to hospitality areas for broadcasters and sponsors.

In an interview with the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag, IOC President Thomas Bach admitted the cost of the postponement of the Games to the organisation would be "several hundred million dollars" but said the exact amount was "not yet foreseeable at this moment".

Coates repeated Bach's assessment that determining the costs of postponement would not happen quickly.

He said working out the costs was imperative for the IOC, with the organisation vowing to support IFs and National Olympic Committees (NOC).

Coates said the IOC would not allow any IF to collapse due to the financial impact caused by the pandemic and the postponement of Tokyo 2020.

"We are assessing the initial costs that we will have to pay and doing that as soon as possible," he said.

"On the Japanese side they are also assessing the cost of the postponement.

"These are not matters that are going to happen quickly, it is quite complicated reaching an agreement with 43 different venue operators and owners.

"On the IOC side, we do have the imperative in many cases to continue to support our IFs and NOCs, who are without income from their events.

"So it is very pressing from our side.

"The IFs no longer have income sources from running events themselves.

"We already are and have started meeting with IFs to discuss what the additional costs are to keep them afloat in some cases.

"We will not stand by and allow any of our International Federations to collapse, we will be helping them."

The Olympic Games were rescheduled for July 23 to August 8 in 2021, with the Paralympics following from August 24 to September 5.