Japan says it won’t send government officials to Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics

(CNN) — Japan will not nonstop immoderate elder officials oregon Cabinet ministers to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, the authorities said Friday — but stopped abbreviated of calling the determination a diplomatic boycott.

Japan “believes that respect for quality rights is important,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said astatine a quality conference. “We made a determination comprehensively.”

Tokyo Olympics Chief Seiko Hashimoto, Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita, and Japan Paralympic Chief Kazuyuki Mori volition inactive be the event, Matsuno added.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said earlier this period helium does not program to be the Games. Kishida has faced rising unit wrong his ruling enactment to instrumentality a tougher stance connected China, according to section media — a delicate contented for Japan, which is simply a adjacent spouse of the United States but besides has beardown economical ties to its Asian neighbor.

The Beijing Games person been shrouded successful contention for months, with activists and critics calling for boycotts implicit concerns of quality rights abuses successful China — peculiarly against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs successful the occidental portion of Xinjiang.

A fig of foreign governments, lawmakers, independent tribunals, and humanitarian groups person declared China’s attraction of Uyghurs a genocide.

So far, Britain, Canada and Australia have followed the US successful announcing diplomatic boycotts — meaning they volition not nonstop immoderate authoritative delegation, though their athletes volition inactive compete. The US said its boycott was owed to China’s “egregious quality rights abuses and atrocities successful Xinjiang.”

China has powerfully criticized the boycotts, arguing authorities and sports should stay separate, and that participating countries are contradicting the Olympic tone of unity. In a connection earlier this month, Beijing threatened the Biden medication with retaliation, informing the determination could harm bilateral relations.