As reported by Kyodo News, ticket purchasers have applied for refunds on about 200,000 of the approximate 970,000 tickets sold in Japan for the Games.

Organisers gave the opportunity for reimbursements after the Games were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Paralympics are now scheduled to take place from August 24 to September 5 2021.

This refund window was open from December 1 to 21.

"This is a confirmation that most people are looking forward to the staging of the Games," a Tokyo 2020 spokesperson said.

"Our preparations for safe and secure Games are moving forward."

It follows on from a similar refund process for the Olympics, with that window closing on November 30 and refunds being made this month. 

Around 18 per cent of Tokyo 2020 Olympics tickets were refunded as around 4.48 million tickets were sold for the Olympics, with Tokyo 2020 revealing there had been 810,000 applications for refunds.

The refund process is separate for ticketholders outside of Japan, who purchased tickets through authorised ticket resellers (ATR).

Each ATR has its own individual refund procedure.

Refunds for the Paralympics are expected in mid-January.