International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, left, meets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his courtesy call at the latter's official residence in Tokyo on July 14, 2021. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday called on the head of the International Olympic Committee to ensure COVID-19 countermeasures are enforced among athletes and staff participating in the Tokyo Olympics.

       The premier's meeting with Thomas Bach took place as health experts and the public remain nervous about holding the games in a city that is both one of the world's most populous and that is currently under its fourth state of emergency amid a fresh surge in coronavirus cases.

       "As the host of the games, I do hope the IOC will make efforts so that all athletes and stakeholders will fully comply" with restrictions on coming into contact with the Japanese public, Suga said, while vowing to make the Olympics a success.

       Bach said strict countermeasures are being enforced and working, promising to "not bring any risk to the Japanese people."

       In their previous meeting in November, the two agreed the Olympics and Paralympics should go ahead this summer, having postponed them by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

       Suga has repeatedly pledged to stage a "safe and secure" games, promising adequate precautions will be in place to prevent the tens to thousands of athletes, staff and media members arriving in Japan from spreading the virus further.

       Parts of the torch relay have been taken off public roads, and organizers said last week spectators will be banned at almost all venues.

       Despite the unprecedented challenges facing the Olympics, the opening ceremony at the National Stadium on July 23 will send a "strong message of unity and of solidarity during these difficult times from Japan to the entire world," Bach said in an online interview with Kyodo News on Tuesday.

       Bach, who arrived in Tokyo last Thursday and spent three days self-isolating at a hotel, held talks with Seiko Hashimoto, head of the Japanese organizing committee, on Tuesday and is also expected to meet with Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.

       On Friday, the 67-year-old German former fencer will travel to Hiroshima to honor victims of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombing, while IOC Vice President John Coates will visit Nagasaki.

       Public skepticism toward the Tokyo Olympics remains high in Japan, with about 35 percent of respondents in a nationwide poll conducted by Kyodo News last month saying the games should be canceled if a state of emergency is declared.

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