The International Olympic Committee has said the Tokyo Summer Olympics will open as scheduled on July 23.

Reuters quoted Australian-born IOC Vice President John Coates as saying Saturday that the Olympics will "absolutely" go ahead in July and August because organizers have designed a “custom-made Olympic bubble” to protect athletes and the Japanese people.

Speaking at the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC)'s annual general meeting in Sydney, Caotes said he could foresee no scenario under which the sporting showpiece would not go ahead. 

The IOC point man for the Tokyo Games as chair of the coordination commission also mentioned that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told President Biden during their summit last month that the Olympics will go ahead and he continues to say that to the IOC as well.

However Japan continues to struggle to contain the virus, with a state of emergency extended in Tokyo and three other areas until the end of May. 

Over 260-thousand people have signed an online Japanese petition calling for the Games, already postponed by a year because of the pandemic, to be cancelled.