Japan won’t send govt. delegation to Beijing 2022

Japan will not send a government delegation to the Beijing Games, which kick off on February 4. The news comes amid international calls for a diplomatic boycott.

Japan is dispatching local Olympic officials. Tokyo 2020 President Hashimoto Seiko and presidents of Japan’s Olympic and Paralympic Committees will attend.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu declined to put a label on the move when asked if it constitutes a “diplomatic boycott.” He said Japan made the decision on its own.

Matsuno said, “We believe that freedom, respect for basic human rights, and the rule of law are basic universal values and should be guaranteed in China, as well. We’ve been providing our perspective directly to the Chinese side at various levels.”

Global concerns over China’s human rights record are growing.

US President Joe Biden first announced he would not send top diplomats to Beijing over alleged abuses in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.