Although it stopped short of calling the decision a diplomatic boycott, Japan has decided not to send any senior officials or Cabinet ministers to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, following the steps of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and Lithuania.
The only official that will attend the Olympic Games is Seiko Hashimoto, a member of the House of Councilors and the former Minister of State for Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, who will travel along with Yasuhiro Yamashita, the Japanese Olympic Committee President, and Japanese Paralympic Committee President Kazuyuki Mori.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno noted that Japan has made the decision comprehensively and stressed that it believes that respect for human rights is important.
Faced with the rising pressure within his ruling party to take a tougher stance on China, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced earlier this month he does not plan to attend the Games and even avoided making the official announcement, leaving it to Matsuno, who announced the move instead of him, claiming that the decision “does not have a special term.”
Japanese officials are careful to avoid damaging relations with China, which is a close partner of the US but also has strong economic ties with Japan, where China is a delicate issue.
However, Japan believes it is important that China respects the common values shared by the international community such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
Arguing politics and sports should remain separate, and that participating countries are contradicting the Olympic spirit of unity, China has strongly criticized the boycotts.
Other world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have also criticized the boycotts, pointing that sports have to unite people, not to drive nations and governments apart.
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