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A senior official of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), John Coates, said it was "100 per cent" likely that the Games would go ahead in Tokyo this summer, Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday.

Coates also told Nikkei Asia in an interview that the decision on whether spectators will be allowed to attend the 23 July - 8 August Games will be made as soon as March or April.

"It's difficult. It's difficult but the Games will take place," he was quoted as saying.

"The IOC and the Tokyo Organising Committee, the Japan government, the Tokyo municipal government have been determined to host these games since the pandemic broke in February last year. We've maintained our resolve. And we see no impediment to that."

Coates  is vice president of the IOC and chairs Tokyo 2020's coordination commission. Support for the Games has evaporated in Japan as the coronavirus crisis has worsened.

As the source added, nearly 80 percent of the Japanese public are now opposed to holding the Summer Games as scheduled this year, recent polls show.