Faux pas: IOC President Bach calls the Japanese Chinese

Just over a week until the Summer Olympics in Tokyo begin. But because of the rising corona numbers in Japan and the capital, there is concern and criticism. The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, wanted to calm down when he made his first appearance after arriving in Japan on Thursday. The games weren’t going to be a super spreader event.

“You have managed to make Tokyo the best prepared city for the Olympic Games. This is even more remarkable in the difficult circumstances we all have to face,” said Bach loudly. “The people of Japan can trust in all the efforts we are making to keep these games safe for them with all the intense and strictest Covid countermeasures,” he added.

Bach’s slip of the tongue causes trouble on social media

Then, however, the IOC president made a faux pas. “Our common goal is safe games for everyone; for the athletes, for all delegations and above all for the Chinese … Japanese,” said Bach, who quickly recognized his mistake and corrected himself. Bach ended his speech with a Japanese sentence “Gambari mashou”, which translates as “Let’s do our best”. You can see Bach’s speech in the original sound in this video:

Bach’s speech was translated from English into Japanese – but his slip of the tongue was not, as AP further reports. Nevertheless, Japanese media reported the gaffe, which led to some violent reactions in social media, as reported. Beijing is scheduled to host the Winter Olympics in February.

The organizers of the games are criticized for the fact that the Olympics are held despite the corona pandemic, surveys show that – depending on the formulation of the question – 50 to 80 percent of the Japanese reject the Olympic Games. The games are slated to open on July 23rd. Many Japanese fear that it will be a superspreader event.

Rising corona numbers in Tokyo – majority rejects games

A few days before the start of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the number of new infections has risen to more than 1,000 cases. On Wednesday, the capital registered 1149 new infections within one day, as local media reported. This is the first time in around two months that this number is above the 1000 case mark, although the fourth state of emergency has been in Tokyo since the beginning of this week.

Of the more than 8,000 foreigners who traveled to the Olympics in Tokyo in the first half of July, three corona cases were also found upon arrival in Japan, according to the IOC. Those affected were immediately isolated, and close contacts also had to undergo quarantine measures, the International Olympic Committee announced on Wednesday.

Hiroshima visit by Bach causes protest

Bach’s plan to visit the city of Hiroshima caused further protest. On the occasion of the Olympic Peace, Bach will go to Hiroshima this Friday and lay a wreath at the memorial in the Peace Park, announced the Olympic organizers on Wednesday.

Hiroshima was destroyed by an American atom bomb at the end of World War II in 1945. A citizen group had accused Bach of abusing Hiroshima’s role as ambassador for world peace and called on the government to cancel the visit.

An online petition against Bach’s visit was signed by more than 50,000 people by Wednesday. Regardless of this, the Olympic organizers announced that the IOC chief would also visit the museum in the Peace Park, which documents the effects of the use of nuclear weapons. He is accompanied by Japan’s head of organization Seiko Hashimoto. At the same time, the head of the IOC’s coordination commission, John Coates, is traveling to Nagasaki and will visit the local atomic bomb museum and the peace memorial hall, it said.

Further source: DPA news agency