Thomas Bach cancels trip to Tokyo, potentially raising concerns about Sapporo 2030 bid

Due to a scheduling conflict, IOC President Thomas Bach will not be heading to Japan later this month.

Bach was scheduled to attend the Tokyo 2020 Olympics one-year anniversary event on October 16 at the National Stadium according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.

The IOC president was in Tokyo last week for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe was Prime Minister in September 2013 when Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The cancellation could throw a pall over Sapporo’s hopes of hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics. Last month officials from Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee canceled their plans to visit Lausanne, Switzerland to visit Bach and IOC headquarters. The reason given for the cancellation was also “scheduling difficulties” between the two.

During his Japan visit, Bach was scheduled to meet Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto to discuss the 2030 Games. Akimoto was also scheduled to meet Bach in Lausanne as well.

The legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Games have been tarnished by a bribery scandal involving Haruyuki Takahashi, a member of the Tokyo 2020 Executive Board. He has been arrested multiple times on suspicion of receiving bribes totaling upwards of 50-70 million JPY. Daiko Advertising, Olympic sponsors Aoki Holdings and the Kadokawa Corporation publishing company have also been implicated in the bribery scandal.