Only French President Macron Expressed Intent to Attend
Reports of President Moon Jae-in's Attendance Intent
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary: "Not Confirmed"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] As the opening of the Tokyo Olympics is scheduled for the 23rd, the list of confirmed foreign leaders attending remains unclear.
Because of this, there are forecasts that Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's summit diplomacy during the Olympics may face setbacks.
According to a compilation of reports from Japanese media such as Kyodo News on the 6th, the only foreign leader who has currently confirmed attendance at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony is French President Emmanuel Macron, scheduled for 2024.
U.S. President Joe Biden, on whom Japan had high hopes, has already announced his non-attendance. Consequently, the Japanese government is making a diplomatic all-out effort to arrange a visit to Japan by First Lady Jill Biden in place of President Biden.
As for the Chinese government representative delegation ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan is reportedly the most likely attendee.
The Asahi Shimbun, citing a Chinese Communist Party official, reported, "China, valuing Olympic cooperation with Japan ahead of the Beijing Games, considered sending a top leadership member to attend, but reflecting Japan's COVID-19 situation and the deterioration of China-Japan relations, decided to send Vice Premier Sun."
Vice Premier Sun, who is in charge of sports administration, also serves as a member of the Central Politburo, which consists of 25 members of the Chinese Communist Party leadership.
Previously, Vice Premier Liu Yandong represented China at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, President Xi Jinping attended the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and Executive Vice Premier Han Zheng attended the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
The Asahi pointed out that compared to the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Games, China is sending a lower-ranking representative to the Tokyo Olympics.
China and Japan expressed support for each other's Olympic hosting during summit meetings from 2017 to 2019, and in October 2019, Vice President Wang Qishan, known as a close aide to President Xi, attended the ceremony proclaiming Emperor Naruhito's accession, indicating relatively smooth China-Japan relations.
However, as U.S.-China relations worsened, Japan's siding with the U.S. led to a rapid deterioration in China-Japan relations.
The Asahi noted that although there were voices within the Japanese government hoping for Vice President Wang to attend the Tokyo Olympics, it appears that attendance will be limited to Vice Premier Sun.
The Sankei Shimbun reported on the same day that the South Korean government conveyed President Moon Jae-in's intention to visit Japan during the Tokyo Olympics to the Japanese side.
However, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, a spokesperson for the Japanese government, denied the report at a regular press conference, stating that there has been no notification of President Moon's visit at this time.
Kyodo News analyzed that due to the impact of COVID-19, the schedules of foreign dignitaries visiting Japan for the Olympics have not been finalized, making Prime Minister Suga's Olympic diplomacy uncertain.
A Japanese diplomatic official expressed frustration, saying, "We won't know until the lid is opened."
The Japanese government initially prepared for over 100 heads of state and regional leaders to attend the opening ceremony before the Tokyo Olympics were postponed by one year due to COVID-19.
According to information gathered by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 80 heads of state attended the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony.
Kyodo News, citing a Japanese government official, reported that the government expects about 40 foreign heads of state to attend the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, similar to the 2016 Rio Olympics, but the final confirmation will only be made shortly before the ceremony due to the impact of COVID-19.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
