Japan backpedals on cooperation with China in Beijing Olympics

Thank you https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210416/p2g/00m/0sp/034000c

 

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi backpedaled on a previous pledge to cooperate in making the Beijing Winter Olympics a success during a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi earlier this month, government sources said Thursday.

The change in stance comes as the United States and other countries have stepped up criticism of China's alleged human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority in its far-western Xinjiang region.

During a call with Motegi on April 5, Wang requested that China and Japan "mutually support" each other in the hosting of the Summer Games in Tokyo this year and the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, according to the sources.

Motegi responded that he hopes next year's Beijing Winter Games "would be a festival of peace in accordance with the Olympic and Paralympic principles," the sources said.

Japan's moderated statement is aimed at preparing for how the international community will respond to the human rights issue and the possibility of a boycott, the sources added.

The Olympic Charter stipulates that there should be no discrimination based on religion, national origin, or of any kind.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not release the remarks made by the two ministers regarding both sporting events during the call, but in terms of the Tokyo Games, Motegi said Japan would do everything in its power to ensure its success.

When Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Motegi met with Wang in Japan last November, the Japanese government stated the countries had agreed to cooperate to make both the upcoming Summer and Winter Games a success.

But criticism of China's alleged human rights abuses of Muslim Uyghurs has been growing in the international community, with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reportedly suggesting last fall that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics was a possibility.

Earlier this month, a U.S. State Department spokesman hinted that the United States was discussing a joint boycott of the Beijing Olympics with allies.

But a senior department official later denied the rumors, saying, "Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed. We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners."

 

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi backpedaled on a previous pledge to cooperate in making the Beijing Winter Olympics a success during a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi earlier this month, government sources said Thursday.

The change in stance comes as the United States and other countries have stepped up criticism of China's alleged human rights abuses of the Uyghur Muslim minority in its far-western Xinjiang region.

During a call with Motegi on April 5, Wang requested that China and Japan "mutually support" each other in the hosting of the Summer Games in Tokyo this year and the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, according to the sources.

Motegi responded that he hopes next year's Beijing Winter Games "would be a festival of peace in accordance with the Olympic and Paralympic principles," the sources said.

Japan's moderated statement is aimed at preparing for how the international community will respond to the human rights issue and the possibility of a boycott, the sources added.

The Olympic Charter stipulates that there should be no discrimination based on religion, national origin, or of any kind.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry did not release the remarks made by the two ministers regarding both sporting events during the call, but in terms of the Tokyo Games, Motegi said Japan would do everything in its power to ensure its success.

When Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Motegi met with Wang in Japan last November, the Japanese government stated the countries had agreed to cooperate to make both the upcoming Summer and Winter Games a success.

But criticism of China's alleged human rights abuses of Muslim Uyghurs has been growing in the international community, with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reportedly suggesting last fall that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics was a possibility.

Earlier this month, a U.S. State Department spokesman hinted that the United States was discussing a joint boycott of the Beijing Olympics with allies.

But a senior department official later denied the rumors, saying, "Our position on the 2022 Olympics has not changed. We have not discussed and are not discussing any joint boycott with allies and partners."

Torch relay on traditional 'men-only' boat in central Japan sets sail with women aboard

 Thank you https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210406/p2a/00m/0na/023000c

April 6, 2021

HANDA, Aichi -- A controversial section of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay taking place on a traditional boat that women are excluded from boarding went ahead in this central Japan city without gender restrictions on April 6, after organizers changed plans to keep it men-only amid backlash over its inconsistency with the Olympic Charter.

The "men only" boat is used in the city of Handa's Chintoro Festival, which dates back to the Edo period (the 17th to 19th century) and was planned to carry a torch relay runner as a way to promote the festival.

On the morning of April 6, Taishin Hirano, 26, a member of all-male pop group "Magic Prince," rode the boat as a torch relay runner while about 30 locals, including three women, were on board to recreate the festival.

The Handa Municipal Government originally planned to limit boarding of the boat for the torch relay to men, because women have traditionally not been allowed to ride the sacred vessel during the festival, and the Olympic torch relay task force in Aichi Prefecture approved the local government's request. However, criticism including "They don't understand that the Olympic Charter calls for equality of the sexes" was raised, leading the city government to treat the use of the boat as part of an "event" rather than the "festival," thereby allowing women on the boat.

The torch relay passed through an about 200-meter section of the Handa Canal. Honoka Sakakibara, 6, a local girl suddenly added to the boarding list, smiled, saying, "It was fun." Her father Masao, 36, said, "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it became a good memory to ride it with my daughter."

Tatsumi Shiraiwa, 69, who serves as a consultant for the festival, said, "It was an event this time, but brought about a good opportunity to think about letting women board in the Shinto ritual festival in future."

(Japanese original by Shinichiro Kawase, Nagoya News Center)

Thank you https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210406/k00/00m/040/107000c

女人禁制「ちんとろ舟」、女性も乗船して聖火運ぶ　愛知

 

HANDA, Aichi -- A controversial section of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay taking place on a traditional boat that women are excluded from boarding went ahead in this central Japan city without gender restrictions on April 6, after organizers changed plans to keep it men-only amid backlash over its inconsistency with the Olympic Charter.

The "men only" boat is used in the city of Handa's Chintoro Festival, which dates back to the Edo period (the 17th to 19th century) and was planned to carry a torch relay runner as a way to promote the festival.

On the morning of April 6, Taishin Hirano, 26, a member of all-male pop group "Magic Prince," rode the boat as a torch relay runner while about 30 locals, including three women, were on board to recreate the festival.

The Handa Municipal Government originally planned to limit boarding of the boat for the torch relay to men, because women have traditionally not been allowed to ride the sacred vessel during the festival, and the Olympic torch relay task force in Aichi Prefecture approved the local government's request. However, criticism including "They don't understand that the Olympic Charter calls for equality of the sexes" was raised, leading the city government to treat the use of the boat as part of an "event" rather than the "festival," thereby allowing women on the boat.

The torch relay passed through an about 200-meter section of the Handa Canal. Honoka Sakakibara, 6, a local girl suddenly added to the boarding list, smiled, saying, "It was fun." Her father Masao, 36, said, "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it became a good memory to ride it with my daughter."

Tatsumi Shiraiwa, 69, who serves as a consultant for the festival, said, "It was an event this time, but brought about a good opportunity to think about letting women board in the Shinto ritual festival in future."

(Japanese original by Shinichiro Kawase, Nagoya News Center)

April 6, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)

Japanese version

April 6, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)

Japanese version

 

 

Thank you https://mainichi.jp/articles/20210406/k00/00m/040/107000c 

女人禁制「ちんとろ舟」、女性も乗船して聖火運ぶ　愛知 東京オリンピックの聖火リレーは6日、愛知県で2日目を迎えた。このうち、同県半田市では江戸時代から続く祭りで使われる女人禁制の「ちんとろ舟」に、乗船者を男性限定にして聖火を運ぶ予定だったが、男女平等の五輪精神に反するとの批判を受けて一転、女性も乗船して実施された。 　6日午前、舟には男性アイドルグループ「マジックプリンス」の平野泰新さん（26）がランナーとして乗り込んだ。舟では祭りを再現しようと、子どもを含め計約30人の地元住民が乗船。うち女性は子どもと保護者の計3人が乗った。 　半田市は地元で江戸時代から続く「ちんとろ祭り」を盛り上げようと、舟によるリレーを計画。その際、祭りでは舟に乗れるのは男性に限られてきたため、リレーも参加者を男性に限定した。市の申請に県実行委員会も承認していた。しかし、「男女平等をうたった五輪憲章を理解していない」などの批判の声が上がり、市は「祭り」ではなく、あくまで「イベント」として女性の乗船を認めた。 　リレーは半田運河の約200メートルの区間を通った。急きょ乗船が決まったという地元の榊原穂香さん（6）は「楽しかった」と笑顔を見せ、父親の全雄さん（36）は「一生に一度なので、娘と一緒に乗れて良い記念になった」と語った。 　祭りの相談役を務める白岩辰巳さん（69）は「今回はイベントでのことだったが、今後、神事である祭りにも女性を乗せることを考える良いチャンスになった」と話した。【川瀬慎一朗】

Japan local Olympic torch relay organizers U-turn on 'men only' boat section after criticism

April 2, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)

April 2, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)

Thank you https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210402/p2a/00m/0na/011000c

NAGOYA -- The decision to exclude women from a section of the Olympic torch relay set to take place on a traditionally men-only boat in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture was scrapped April 2 following the Mainichi Shimbun's reporting on the plans. 

 In the early hours of April 2, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay in Aichi Prefecture Task Force urged a rethink from the Handa Municipal Government, which runs the city where the section of the route is being held, and it was decided that women would be allowed to board the vessel. 

A "men only" traditional boat ride was initially set for inclusion on the Olympic torch relay itinerary scheduled for April 6 in Aichi Prefecture. The boats, used in the city of Handa's Chintoro Festival dating back to the Edo period (1603-1867), will carry Olympic torchbearers, but because women are traditionally forbidden from riding the vessels, a request by the city to allow only men on them in the relay had been accepted by the organizers, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay in Aichi Prefecture Task Force. Experts criticized the move, with one saying, "Don't they understand that the Olympic Charter calls for equality of the sexes?" 

According to the Aichi Prefecture task force, an around 200-meter section of the course across the city's Handa canal was to be limited to men only. Apart from the torchbearer, a total of about 30 male residents were to ride the boat, some of whom will provide live musical accompaniment recreating the traditional festival's atmosphere. 

The Handa Municipal Government proposed to the task force that the boats be used in the relay to promote the festival. During the event, only men are allowed to ride the boats, so it was reportedly decided the relay also would be a men-only affair. 

In an earlier conversation with a local male executive in charge of the festival, the Mainichi Shimbun learned that police officers and media-related individuals riding the boat were also all set to be men. When the plans were put forward to the Aichi Prefectural Government, they were reportedly told that women are traditionally forbidden from getting on the boats. 

But following media reports and discussions with the festival's local organizers, which manage the boat, its use this time will now be treated as an "event" rather than a "festival," thereby allowing women to ride the boat in this instance. Children will also be among those performing traditional festival music on the vessel, and their parents and guardians will also be on board. Owing to the gender limits on the boat, it had been expected that only male guardians would be allowed on, but with the change it's reportedly now possible for female ones to ride, too. 

Before the change, a city government official told the Mainichi Shimbun, "While there might be elements that aren't in keeping with the Olympic spirit, the festival is the way it is. It's an issue about whether we choose history and traditions, or the latest commonly held views." 

But after it was decided to let women on board, one member of the task force said, "Although it's important to protect traditional culture, it's not in-keeping with the Olympics. We reviewed it so that it could take a form which the public could appreciate."

 In its original reporting on the story, the Mainichi Shimbun heard critical views from cultural experts. Among them was professor emeritus in cultural anthropology at Keio University and expert on female exclusion in culture Masataka Suzuki, who explained how the tradition came to be maintained: "The boats used in the festival are intended to welcome and celebrate the gods, and so allowing women to ride them became taboo." 

He indicated the festival was inappropriate for the torch relay, saying, "The question is, why did they decide to use a ship originally meant for the gods in the torch relay? They should think of the festival and this event as separate things." Kyoko Raita, a professor at Chukyo University and an expert on sports and gender issues, said, "That this was decided without anyone feeling any kind of doubt itself shows there are issues of no one even looking at this from a gender perspective." (Japanese original by Shinichiro Kawase and Shiho Sakai, Nagoya News Center)