PRESS CONFERENCE
Statement against the Tokyo Olympics
Chizuko Ueno, Professor Emeritus, the University of Tokyo
Mikio Haruna, Journalist & Yutaka Iimura, Former Ambassador of Japan to France
14:00-15:00 Monday, July 19, 2021
The speech and Q & A will be in English and Japanese with interpretation.
Statement against the Tokyo Olympics
Japan's government and the International Olympic Committee are pushing ahead with the Tokyo Olympics, despite another surge in coronavirus cases. The Games will run from July 23 until August 8th with no spectators and during a state of emergency that means many service businesses will be closed at night. Entry to Japan from about 160 countries is banned. Japan has turbo-charged its vaccination program, but millions of Japanese will still be unvaccinated by the time of the opening ceremony. Athletes will be housed in a “bubble” community in the Olympic Village. Opinion polls suggest that most Japanese people had wanted the Games to be postponed or cancelled.
In these unusual circumstances, a group of novelists, composers, journalists, scholars, and diplomats have banded together to protest the government's and IOC’s decision. They have gathered thousands of signatures calling for the Games to be stopped, because they say Tokyo is no longer safe to host such a large sporting event. While their demand is unlikely to be acted on, the fact that such a prominent group of cultural and intellectual leaders has publicly criticized the government is yet another black mark against an event that may go down as one of the most controversial in Olympic history.
How to attend:
Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited to 20 people. Doors open 30 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/gYYEHVSS1mJMXd1x9
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form (English only).
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 45 minutes before the event. There will be five positions available for livestreaming.
Professional Activities Committee