A flame-lighting event for the Tokyo Paralympics is held on Aug. 15, 2021, in Ishinomaki, a Miyagi. (Mainichi)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons arrived Monday in Japan for the Tokyo Paralympics due to begin next week, amid concerns over the safety of the games as the country struggles to contain a fifth wave of coronavirus infections.

       Like the Olympics, the Paralympics are expected to be held mostly behind closed doors when they open Aug. 24 due to an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases since mid-July caused by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.

       Parsons, who landed at Tokyo's Haneda airport, is set to hold a meeting on Monday evening with representatives of the games' organizing committee as well as the Japanese and Tokyo metropolitan governments to decide on a policy over spectators.

       A decision has been pushed back until the last minute to monitor how the pandemic develops.

       Tokyo has been under a COVID-19 state of emergency since July 12. It has reported record numbers of daily infections in recent weeks, with the daily tally hitting 5,773 on Friday, nearly tripling the figure logged before the start of the Olympics on July 23.

       The 17-day Olympics that concluded Aug. 8 were held without spectators at most of the 42 venues.

       During the Paralympics, which will involve about 4,400 athletes from close to 160 countries, the organizers are planning to bar general spectators from entering venues in Tokyo and the neighboring prefectures of Saitama and Chiba, officials familiar with the matter have said.

       But students from local schools may be allowed to watch Paralympic competitions at venues as an exception as part of a government-backed education program, according to the officials.

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