The International Olympic Committee urged organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Monday to step up their preparations and brace themselves for intense scrutiny, following the successful hosting of the Winter Games by neighboring South Korea in Pyeongchang.

John Coates, the IOC vice president and chairman of the 2020 Coordination Commission, fired a warning shot during the opening remarks of the two-day project review for the next Summer Games, saying the eyes of the world will now be on Tokyo with Pyeongchang in the rearview mirror.

Coates did not mince words, explaining the pressure will be on the Tokyo organizing committee to deliver a highly successful games two years from now.

"This project review comes off the back of a very, very, very successful Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, so the bar's just been raised a bit higher for you," Coates said.

"We are now -- you are now -- into the operational phase of the preparation, test events, some of them happening this summer."

"We also enter a phase where questions from stakeholders become very pragmatic and very urgent, in particular in areas such as the field of play, accommodation, transport, things that affect the competition and the athletes."

(John Coates, right, and Yoshiro Mori)
[Pool photo]

Coates' remarks follow stinging criticism of Tokyo's preparations by the international governing bodies of some sports last week in Bangkok at the SportAccord Convention, in particular from World Sailing, which claimed the organizing committee is at least one year behind, with its first test event scheduled in September at Enoshima Yacht Harbor.

Coates said Tokyo can expect to be put to the test about its readiness in late November this year, when the Association of National Olympic Committees comes to town for a series of meetings.

Coates said organizers can expect two days of being grilled and that they will need to be able to respond to the heightened demands of the IOC's member nations.

"Remember, we have 206 National Olympic Committees coming here in November and they're not going to hold back," the Australian said. "They're going to want answers so you have to be prepared to answer those questions when they're raised."

"If you don't, these are the things that can impact the confidence of your stakeholders and the ability to host the games, and that's very hard to come back from once that momentum starts to build."

"When these questions come, they're going to be answered."

Coates said Tokyo has a lot going for it, especially in terms of massive public support. He pointed to the parade for Pyeongchang men's figure skating gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu on Sunday that drew more than 100,000 as an example of that backing, which Coates said must be capitalized on.

(Yuzuru Hanyu waves to fans during Sunday's parade in his hometown Sendai.)

"I saw on the front page of the (Japan Times), your figure skater in the hometown of Sendai, 100,000 people coming out on the street for a parade. That's unbelievable, six weeks after the games," he said.

"That's the momentum you really have going for you and that's the momentum you can build on."

Drawing on his own experience as chief organizer of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Coates stressed the importance of the Japanese delegation performing well for the Tokyo Games to be a true success, more than whatever profits the event makes.

"When Sydney was given the games, (then IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch) said to me, 'John, the success of the games in your country will be based on the performance of the home team -- it's so critical that you get that right.'"

"That's what you'll be judged on. The massive surplus and the money that's going back to the IOC, that's important, but it's not as important as the gold medals."