The organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics established a task force to deal with the postponement of the Summer Games due to the coronavirus pandemic and held its first meeting on Thursday.

"From now we take on an unprecedented challenge," organizing committee President Yoshiro Mori told some 30 members of the group confronted with the daunting task of reworking the preparations of the last six years.

Two days after the decision to postpone the games for the first time in history was announced, organizing committee CEO Toshiro Muto said organizers are facing a "contest of time" and hoped a new timeframe would soon be fixed for the Olympics, originally scheduled from July 24 to Aug. 9.

"There are many things that can't proceed if the new hosting period is not decided quickly," Muto said.

[Getty/Kyodo]

Related coverage:

Olympics: Overseas athletes, sports bodies welcome Tokyo Games delay

Stormy year ahead for Japan's tourism industry as Olympics put off

Olympics: Tokyo Games not limited to summertime, Bach says

Department heads of the various organizing arms, such as transportation, security and event management, formed the core of the task force present at the meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach agreed Tuesday to delay the games until no later than the summer of 2021 as the world continues to struggle with the coronavirus outbreak.

Bach has said the games could take place before next summer, however, to fit inside the crowded international sports schedule, largely fixed over the next year.

The Tokyo organizing committee was first established in early 2014 after the Japanese capital won the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in September of the previous year.