OLYMPICS: Japan Reportedly Eyeing Not Sending Ministers to Beijing Games – The Rafu Shimpo

Combined photo shows Seiko Hashimoto, president of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, Japanese Olympic Committee head Yasuhiro Yamashita and Japan Sports Agency commissioner Koji Murofushi. (Kyodo)

KYODO NEWS

TOKYO Japan is considering not sending Cabinet ministers to next years Beijing Olympics in line with a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott amid rising criticism over Chinas human rights record, government and ruling coalition sources said Saturday.

Japans actions would see it side with the U.S., along with countries including Australia, Britain and Canada, while stopping short of actually being a diplomatic boycott, the sources said.

Various options are being mulled including sending Seiko Hashimoto, president of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and a member of the House of Councillors, or Japanese Olympic Committee head Yasuhiro Yamashita, the sources said.

Keeping in mind the positions of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and tensions between China and the U.S., Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may decide on the matter before year-end, the sources said.

In a break from other G-7 nations, France has said it will send high-level officials to the Winter Olympics in February. Paris is due to host the Summer Games in 2024.

Members of Kishidas ruling Liberal Democratic Party have been urging him to swiftly make a decision. He has said Japan will decide whether to join the diplomatic boycott based on its national interests.

Japan is considering explaining that its stance to send representatives, but not ministers, is not a diplomatic boycott, as it seeks to strike a balance in dealing with the U.S., its key security ally, and China, its largest trading partner, according to the sources.

One of the government sources said Hashimoto will go to Beijing in her capacity as head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, not as a government representative, a move that is likely to appear to the U.S. as being cooperative with the diplomatic boycott.

At the same time, sending Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian who played a key role in the Tokyo Games, to the sports event can also be regarded as Japans face-saving step for China, the source said.

The International Olympic Committee issued a declaration following the virtual Olympic Summit on Saturday that gathered leading sports representatives, saying it is opposed to politicizing the games.

The Summit stands firmly against any politicization of the Olympic Games and sport, and strongly emphasized the need for the political neutrality of the IOC, the Olympic Games and the entire Olympic Movement, the IOC said.

China has urged Japan to support the Beijing Olympics, saying it gave its full support to the Tokyo Games this summer. Earlier this month, the U.S. said it has decided on a diplomatic boycott, citing Chinas alleged human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur minority and others in its far-western Xinjiang region.

Japan is weighing its decision in light of Chinas support for Japans hosting of the Tokyo Olympics this summer, despite challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

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OLYMPICS: Japan Reportedly Eyeing Not Sending Ministers to Beijing Games - The Rafu Shimpo