Japan Olympic Committee deputy head has coronavirus:

IMAGE: Japanese former marathon runner Noguchi Mizuki and president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee Toshiaki Endo pose for a picture following the Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics in ancient Olympia, Greece. Photograph: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

The head of Japan's soccer association, Kozo Tashima, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Kyodo news agency said, citing unnamed sources.

Tashima is also deputy head of Japan's Olympic committee.

"Today, my test result showed positive for the new coronavirus," Tashima said in a statement, issued via the Japan Football Association.

Tashima said he was on a business trip since February 28, first heading to Belfast to attend the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board.

From March 2, he visited Amsterdam for a UEFA meeting to give a presentation on Japan's bid for the 2023 women's World Cup.

On March 3, he attended a general meeting of UEFA.

"In Amsterdam and in Europe in early March, the level of nervousness against the novel coronavirus was not the same as now. Everyone was still doing hugs, handshakes and bises (cheek kissing)," he said in the statement.

Source: REUTERS
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