The Japanese government announced that it will not send any Cabinet ministers and other senior officials to the 2022 Beijing Olympics, although it remains unclear if the Japanese athletes will still participate in the games, Japan’s state media reports confirmed.
Joining the US, Canada, and Australia, Japan earlier yesterday formally announced the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Olympics in an attempt to condemn the human rights violations by China on Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.
Their boycott stops short of not sending athletes to the Winter Games, which start on February 4. But Beijing has warned the four nations they will “pay the price” for the US-led campaign.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news conference that We have no plans to send a government delegation.
Japan, as a U.S. ally and considering its biggest trade partner is China, is in a difficult position and has taken a softer approach than its western partners on human rights situations in China’s Xinjiang region and Hong Kong.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has made human rights a key part of his diplomacy and created a special advisory position to tackle the issue and has said he hopes to make a constructive relations with China. He has been repeatedly asked what to do about the Beijing Olympics in recent weeks but only said he was to make a decision comprehensively for Japan’s national interest.
