International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told reporters Thursday there would be no problem with a third straight Asian host for the Winter Olympics, clearing the way for Sapporo as a 2026 bidder.

Following the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the upcoming 2022 Olympics in the Chinese capital Beijing, Sapporo would be the third Asian city to host the Winter Olympics if it won the bid.

The northern Japanese city had earlier expressed concern about the likelihood of winning the 2026 bid as a third Asian host, telling the Japanese Olympic Committee it would rather join the race to host the 2030 Winter Games instead, sources familiar with the matter said.

Five other potential bid teams have expressed interest in hosting the 2026 Games so far. The other candidates are Graz in Austria, Calgary in Canada, Stockholm in Sweden, Erzurum in Turkey, and the Italian cities of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Milan and Turin.

Bach also hinted Thursday he would like to meet with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he visits Japan later this year in order to discuss North Korea's participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the IOC's continuing efforts to promote peace and harmony in the region through sport.

(IOC chief Thomas Bach)

The IOC board of directors will meet with the Association of National Olympic Committees in Tokyo from late November until December. Bach said he would like to make contact with Abe during that time "if possible."

Following talks with Kim Jong Un in which the North Korean leader committed to his country's athletes participating in the 2020 and 2022 Games, the IOC invited delegations from the two Koreas, China and Japan to participate in Olympic Day on Saturday in Lausanne, Switzerland, in order to promote dialogue between the regional neighbors.

Japan's Ai Fukuhara and Tomokazu Harimoto will take part in a mixed table tennis friendly competition during the event.