The International Olympic Committee is facing increased pressure to decide whether to let athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Less than a year remains before the event opens.

In March, the IOC issued recommendations on the issue to international sports federations. The committee said Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to compete in international competitions as neutral participants. It also said athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies could not compete.

But the IOC has yet to decide whether to allow athletes from the two countries to participate in the Paris Games. Ukraine's National Olympic Committee has indicated it may boycott the event if they are allowed to take part.

NHK conducted a survey of the 33 national sports federations that are expected to send their delegations to Paris, asking for their views about participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus.

Twenty-four federations, or more than 70 percent of them, said they didn't approve or disapprove. Four said they would like to approve participation, while five said they did not want to approve it.

Some federations that favor participation cited the belief that sports should be considered separate from politics. Others said athletes should not be held responsible for the actions of their governments.

Those opposed said it would be hard to gain the public's understanding or that allowing participation would be seen as approval of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Some organizations said decisions by their international federations were the reason for their position.

International sports federations have been divided over how to handle the issue. There have been cases in which a decision to allow athletes from the two countries led to an event being canceled or boycotted by athletes from Ukraine.

The Olympics have been long perceived as a celebration of peace. But as the world becomes increasingly divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, organizers of the event are finding they cannot avoid the controversy.