Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday met the head of the International Olympic Committee(IOC), Thomas Bach. 

Following the meeting, Bach said the Tokyo Games, starting on July 23, will be historic for the way the Japanese people have overcome challenges to hold the global sporting event amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bach assured Suga that the IOC would do everything in its power not to bring risk to the Japanese people. Host city Tokyo has been under a new state of emergency since Monday, which is expected to run through the Games until August 22.

Bach will visit Hiroshima to mark the start of the Olympic Truce on Friday and deliver a speech at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Japan's Ibaraki, Miyagi and Shizuoka prefectures, which account for only 3.5 percent of the total matches, still allow Olympic Games attendees, whereas Tokyo, Hokkaido and Fukushima will be spectator-free.

The Olympic Village in Tokyo opened its doors to athletes this week.

(With input from Reuters)