Japan will not send officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022. Government Secretary General Hirokazu Matsuno has announced this.
Japanese athletes will participate in the Games as scheduled. The heads of the National Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games will also visit Beijing.
Thus, Japan joined the diplomatic boycott of the Olympic Games in China. However, Matsuno stressed that the country does not use such a term.
Matsuno added that for Japan, freedom and human rights are one of the key values. Tokyo has abandoned its plan to send high-ranking officials to the Beijing Olympics because China “does not stand up for these values,” he said.
In early December, the United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympics, which would mean officials would not attend the Games. The United States attributed the ruling to crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights violations. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki clarified that Washington has informed the allies of its decision, but they themselves have the right to decide what to do with the upcoming Games.
Later, a number of other countries, including Canada, Britain and Australia, joined in the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics.
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