TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Senior Japanese government official may miss 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February, joins US in diplomatic boycott, newspaper says Yomiuri reported on Saturday, citing several sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier this week, Canada joined with Australia, Britain and the United States in declaring they would not send senior officials to the Olympics, citing long-standing concerns over the toll of China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang.
China called the boycott a “political stance” and a smear campaign.
City of Reuters, 12 December 2021, journal Yomiuri said Japan would likely make an official decision by the end of the month. The only officials now expected are Olympics-related personnel including Seiko Hashimoto, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee and members of the advisory board, or Japanese Olympic Committee chief Yasuhiro Yamashita, the sources said. .
A Japanese government spokesperson said on Friday that no decision has been made on whether the country plans to send officials to attend the event.
Given the position of the industrialized countries of the G7 group and the tensions between China and the United States, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could speak out on the matter before the end of the year, the source said, as quoted by the press agency. Kyodo News.
Members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to make a decision quickly. He said Japan will decide whether or not to join diplomatic boycott on the basis of its “national interest”.
Japan plans to explain that its position on sending representatives, but not ministers, is not a diplomatic boycott, as it seeks to strike a balance in its relations with the United States, its main ally in the matter. security, and China, its biggest trading partner, sources mentioned.
A government source said Hashimoto would travel to Beijing as head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, not as a government official, a move the United States saw as cooperative with the boycott. diplomatic.
The International Olympic Committee released a statement after Saturday’s virtual Olympic summit that brought together leading sports representatives, saying they were against the politicization of sporting events.
Representatives of the National Olympic Committees of China, Russia and the United States were also present at the summit, according to reports. Kyodo News.
China urged Japan to support the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, saying it has given its full support to the Tokyo Olympics this summer.
Read also : France will not follow in the footsteps of the Allies to boycott the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing
REUTERS | YOMIURI | KYODO NEWS
“Gamer. Introvert. Problem solver. Creator. Thinker. Lifelong food evangelist. Alcohol advocate.”