Wednesday, August 25, 2021
Entry exemption for IOC chief
Thomas Bach is causing anger in Japan again
He is back in Tokyo and the anger is immediately high again: Thomas Bach will probably no longer be a loved one in Japan. The head of the IOC comes to the opening of the Paralympics. The government makes an exception for his entry, while the population is desperate in an emergency.
Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has again countered criticism in Japan. The top corona advisor to the Japanese government, the physician Shigeru Omi, expressed great incomprehension in parliament that Bach had traveled to Japan again for the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. “I wonder why he came,” said Omi, referring to the aggravated infection situation. “If a greeting is necessary, why can’t he do it online?” Says Omi. Normal citizens who are supposed to work at home because of Corona asked themselves what Bach’s next visit should be. After all, he had only just visited Tokyo.
Bach had previously been to the Olympic Games in Tokyo and had already caused criticism when he was seen in the shopping and entertainment district of Ginza after the games. There is a corona emergency in the Japanese capital, the infection situation has deteriorated drastically. Experts compare the situation with a serious natural disaster. According to the Japanese media, Bach did not have to be quarantined when he entered the country again. The government made an exception for him, on the condition that Bach only stayed in certain places, such as at the opening ceremony in the stadium and his hotel, according to television reports.
Meanwhile, IPC President Andrew Parsons sees no connection between the hosting of the Paralympics and the sharp rise in the number of corona infections, but he understands the situation of the population. “I come from a country that has also been badly affected,” said the Brazilian. “I understand what society is facing and what it has been through in the past few weeks,” said Parsons. “We are of course sorry for the Japanese people.” The Olympic Games had shown, however, that there was no connection “between our presence” and the increasing number of cases of infection.
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