The organizers of this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are making arrangements to hold a high-level meeting next Monday, an official familiar with the matter said, with the issue of overseas spectators expected to be high on the agenda.

The heads of the International Olympic Committee and four other bodies responsible for the planning are most likely to agree that overseas spectators will not be allowed to attend the Summer Games amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Japanese government has already decided that welcoming spectators from abroad is impossible, given concerns among the public over the further spread of the virus and the fact that more contagious variants have been detected in various countries, officials with knowledge of the situation said earlier.

IOC President Thomas Bach told a press conference late last week that Japan is in charge of making the call on the issue, and his organization will "respect and accept this decision."

The upcoming online meeting is expected to be also attended by Seiko Hashimoto, head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, International Paralympic Committee chief Andrew Parsons, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and Japan's Olympic minister Tamayo Marukawa.

The five organizing bodies agreed on March 3 to decide whether to admit overseas fans by the end of March before determining the maximum capacity of venues in April.

Hashimoto, who took the reins of the organizing committee in February, has said the issue of overseas fans should be finalized before the nationwide Olympic torch relay begins in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima on March 25.

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