Tokyo, December 24 (EFE). The Japanese government announced today that it will not send a government representative mission to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but will send representatives of the National Olympic Committee along with Japanese athletes.
“We will not send government representatives,” Japanese spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference on Friday, after he announced that Japan would send three members of the Japanese Olympic and Paralympic Committees in response to the invitation by the Olympic and Paralympic Committee. International for the Handicapped.
They will travel to the international sports competition Seiko Hashimoto, Chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee; Yasuhiro Yamashita, President of the Japanese Olympic Committee. and Kazuyuki Mori, president of the Japan Paralympic Committee, according to the spokesperson.
“It is a decision that was taken on its own,” Matsuno explained in response to a question about whether this decision has been consulted with other countries, based on the diplomatic boycott announced by the United States, considering that the Chinese government is committing human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Matsuno did not use the word “boycott” to explain the Japanese government’s move and asserted that this decision “has no specific term.”
When asked about the reasons for not sending a government representation to Beijing, the spokesman replied: “Japan is directly working to explain our position to China, because it is important to ensure universal values in the international community, including freedom and human rights.” 2022.
“The Olympic and Paralympic Games are celebrations of peace and sports that show courage to the world,” Matsuno added, then affirmed that “Japan hopes that these games will be held in peace and in the spirit of the Olympics and the Paralympics.”
Japan will therefore try not to align itself directly with the US-led diplomatic boycott, which Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have joined.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had already announced that he had no plans to travel to attend the competition.
Kishida would have chosen not to personally announce the plan and authorize his spokesperson before the imminent celebration in 2022 of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, according to government sources revealed by Kyodo News.
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