International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach attends a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2020. (Pool photo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The International Olympic Committee said Wednesday its President Thomas Bach is set to arrive in Japan on July 8, about two weeks before the opening of the Tokyo Games, delayed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

       Amid lingering skepticism about the IOC and Japanese organizers' capability to stage the games safely, it also said it is arranging for Bach to visit atomic-bombed Hiroshima on July 16, the starting day of an Olympic truce adopted by the United Nations.

       IOC Vice President John Coates, who arrived in Japan about two weeks ago, is planning to visit Nagasaki, another city devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945, on the same day, according to the committee.

       In line with safety rules put in place by the organizers, Bach will arrive in Japan fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and upon arrival will work remotely only, the IOC added on its website.

       The Japanese organizing committee said Bach will quarantine at his hotel for three days. He is set to visit the athletes' village in Tokyo's Harumi waterfront district and other games-related locations in the lead up to the Olympics, due to begin July 23.

       Tokyo, which had been under a COVID-19 state of emergency for about two months since late April, is now under a lighter quasi-state of emergency.

       In the face of a resurgence of infections in recent days, it remains uncertain whether the government can end the emergency situation as planned on July 11.

       On Wednesday, Tokyo logged 714 new cases of COVID-19, topping the 700 mark for the first time since May 26, adding to concerns the Olympics could trigger a spike in infections.

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