International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach arrived in Japan for the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, two weeks ahead of the opening of the games, with the Japanese capital experiencing a spike in coronavirus infections.
The IOC president arrived at Tokyo's Haneda airport amid rising concern the Olympics could trigger a further surge in infections, while the Japanese government has started considering staging the games without spectators at venues in and around the capital.
Due to another wave of COVID-19 infections, the Japanese government plans to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo, possibly until Aug. 22, senior government officials said Wednesday.