An expert attending the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizers' panel on COVID-19 countermeasures said Friday that the increased flow of people within Japan during the games could lead to a rise in the number of infections.

Non-panel member Taisuke Nakata, a University of Tokyo associate professor invited to the meeting, also said his team's tentative calculations suggested the impact of 78,000 overseas stakeholders in Japan during the games would have a "limited" impact on infections inside the country.

A roadside in the Shiga Prefecture city of Kusatsu in western Japan is crowded with people ahead of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay on May 27, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The panel, which met for the first time since it initially convened on April 30, is scheduled to meet a total of four times to discuss countermeasures and provide advice to the organizers for the "playbooks" delivered to athletes and other games' stakeholders.

Hidemasa Nakamura, the organizers' games delivery officer, said the countermeasures implemented for four recent test events -- including the May 1 to 6 Diving World Cup with around 200 overseas athletes representing some 40 national Olympic committees -- were effective.

When asked about concerns regarding the playbooks raised by overseas experts, Nakamura said the organizers will hold discussions with the World Health Organization and other bodies and "change the content wherever necessary" in the playbooks.

Prior to the meeting, the panels' members visited the athletes' village.