Japan Football Association President Kozo Tashima, who has recovered after being infected with the new coronavirus, said Wednesday he hopes Japan's state of emergency will spur athletes to put their civic duties first.

Speaking online to reporters, Tashima said, "Before we are athletes, we are citizens. I hope we are all conscious of battling to overcome this difficult situation together."

Tashima emphasized athletes should concentrate on preventing further infections by promoting self-restraint rather than only focusing on physical conditioning during a time when sports are restricted.

As a vice president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Tashima said the coronavirus pandemic, which has forced the postponement of the 2020 Olympics, would also affect money flowing to support Japanese Olympic and Paralympic athletes because of its impact on the economy. Because of that, he is expecting a significant drop in funding.

"This is going to be hard on businesses, too," he said. "There's no reason to think we're going to get the funds we had been expecting."

The JFA board of directors, he said, will discuss reducing player registration fees and payments by clubs, while the association will also lend a hand to struggling clubs and coaches.

"We will help out J-League and local clubs, and coaches who lose their jobs and are ready to take out loans from banks," said Tashima.

Having battled with the virus on a personal level, the JFA chief now wants to confront it on a national and global level.

"If Japan does not contribute to overcoming the new coronavirus, if our medicine, medical equipment and human resources cannot assist the world, the Olympics may not happen," he said.

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