Japan welcomes Malaysian athletes to Tokyo Olympics, Paralympics

 

The Japanese government never requested the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to deny entry of athletes from countries like Malaysia, the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia said.

It added that preparations were underway, including measures to prevent infection, to ensure the Tokyo Olympics that is set to begin next month would be held in a safe and secure manner.

“Japan sincerely hopes that the athletes from Malaysia, a long-time friend country of Japan, will achieve great results in the Tokyo Games,” the embassy said in a statement released yesterday.

On Tuesday (June 8), Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee CEO Toshiro Muto denied claims that athletes from 10 countries, including Malaysia, would be barred from next month’s Olympics due to surges in Covid-19 cases in these countries.

Muto said the possibility of denying entry was not even considered but contingents from several countries are required to be fully vaccinated before arriving in Japan for the games scheduled to begin on July 23.

This comes after a daily newspaper reported that the Japanese government issued a circular to the Olympic organising committee to "deny entry" of athletes from 10 countries experiencing a spike in Covid-19 cases.

According to the report, if the committee did not deny entry, stricter measures would be imposed, including a 14-day quarantine.

Other countries on the possible "no-entry list" were said to be India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican said in a statement that he received personal confirmation from the Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, Oka Hiroshi, as well as from Wisma Putra regarding Muto's statement, while Olympic Council of Malaysia president Mohamad Norza Zakaria also denied the report concerned.

"On behalf of the government, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Hiroshi for always providing the latest developments and also helping to confirm that Malaysia is always welcome to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, which will take place soon," Reezal said.

The Tokyo Olympics will take place from July 23 to Aug 8 while the Paralympic Games will be from Aug 24 to Sept 5.

- Bernama