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IOC President Thomas Bach appeals to the Japanese before the Olympics

SThomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), rarely finds such clear words. At a press conference on Saturday, he appealed to the Japanese population, who are largely opposed to hosting the Summer Games in Tokyo, to give the athletes who are now gradually flying into the city a positive reception. “I would once again humbly ask the Japanese people to welcome and support the athletes,” he said. The Japanese people and the athletes have “the suffering of the pandemic in common”. And the athletes would have “overcome so many obstacles to get here.”

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When a Japanese journalist asked, he said: “We are very well informed about the skepticism of a number of people in Japan. The media are reporting about it very carefully. ”But the athletes who came to Japan had the same interest as the hosts:“ Safe games. ”And he made it clear that these games, which are supposed to start on Friday, are the most restrictive Sporting event “not just in Japan, but all over the world”.

He was probably alluding to the fact that other sporting events are currently being held in front of a limited number of spectators in Japan, such as the sumo tournament in Nagano, while fans were completely excluded for the games. Bach expressed the hope that the moment when Japanese athletes were successful in the competitions, the mood would become “less emotional, not to say less aggressive.” Protesters in front of the IOC hotel had been taken away by the police on Saturday have to.

Positive test in the Olympic village

The fact that Bach was so clear and that the athletes were so explicitly protected against the rejection in the host country suggests some suppressed displeasure after 15 months of work on a sophisticated concept that will prevent the spread of the corona virus at the games, and above all through the games should. In fact, the Olympic guests are required to move around permanently in an impenetrable bubble, and compliance is strictly controlled, for example through satellite surveillance. In addition, the Olympic family will be tested closely for Covid-19. But even in this bubble, positive cases cannot be completely avoided.

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