The Tokyo Olympic Games Will Be Held Without Spectators

The Tokyo Olympic Games will be held without spectators in most of the venues as the Japanese capital has entered a fourth state of emergency because of surging COVID-19 infections.

The spectator decision comes as Tokyo reported 920 new infections for Wednesday — the highest daily caseload since the middle of May.

A virtual five-party meeting, attended by and representatives of Japanese and Tokyo government, the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, is being held on the matter and a final decision is expected to be announced later Thursday night. IOC president Thomas Bach, who arrived at Tokyo earlier on Thursday, has addressed the meeting via video conferencing.

According to an IOC spokesman, it's unprecedented for a host city's venues not to have spectators.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has just put Tokyo under a new COVID-19 state of emergency, which runs from July 12 to August 22 and covers the duration of the Olympics.

Japan has lagged behind in rolling out its vaccination drive. Only 15% of its population are fully vaccinated.