The delegation Japan will send to the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing includes the heads of National Olympic Committee (NOC) and Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games but no government officials, according to a statement of Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno made on Friday
TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th December, 2021) The delegation Japan will send to the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing includes the heads of National Olympic Committee (NOC) and Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic Games but no government officials, according to a statement of Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno made on Friday.
"The head of the NOC Yasuhiro Yamashita, the head of the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Seiko Hashimoto, will go to the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, and the head of the Paralympic Committee of Japan, Kazuyuki Mori, will go to the Paralympic Games. In any case, the Games in Beijing will be held in accordance with the spirit of Olympism and Paralympism, as a celebration of peace," Matsuno said.
He noted that the delegation did not include any government officials due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"As for the competitions in Beijing, amid the severe COVID-19 restrictions, officials from the sports ministry will not be able to provide decent direct support to Japanese athletes, so they will not attend. Thus, there are no plans to send a representative delegation," the diplomat said.
Matsuno added that the cabinet made a "comprehensive judgment," saying that for Japan, freedom and human rights and also rule of law were universal values, and it was important that these values were ensured and guaranteed in China as well.
On December 6, the United States said that it would not send an official delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics due to alleged human rights violations by China. The move has been supported by several allies, including the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Athletes from these countries are still free to compete. China responded by saying that attempts to politicize sports violate the Olympic Charter and that the boycott "wins no support and isolates the countries themselves."
