Tokyo Olympics to be held without spectators

TOKYO (Xinhua) --  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, according to media reports.    
    
 Japan's Kyodo news agency said that Olympic competitions in Tokyo and three neighboring prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama will take place behind closed doors.    
    
 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.    
    
 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.    
    
 Tokyo's confirmed cases rose to 920 on Wednesday, the highest daily count in nearly two months.