Coates Recognizes Thorny Issues of Japanese Abductions

(ATR) Tokyo 2020 Coordination Commission chair John Coates says the IOC will remain "politically neutral," regarding North Korean participation at the next Olympics.

However, Coates did recognize that the Japanese government has a right to block non-accredited North Korean political leaders from attending. Also, Coates said he personally understands the political realities and trickiness of working to solve the issue of Japanese abductions by North Korea.

The question of North Korean participation was raised during a press conference following an IOC project review of Tokyo 2020. The review was meant to serve as a bridge before the CoComm returns in July to see the progress of the Tokyo project.

Coates started the meeting off warning Tokyo 2020 leaders that they will face "pertinent questions" from international federations, that they must be prepared to answer. In the final press conference Coates shared issues raised by judo, sailing, and triathlon, as an example of outstanding issues that must be addressed. He said that organizers shared solutions to tackle the problems head on.

Triathlon raised concerns regarding the water quality monitoring in Tokyo Bay, a problem that has plagued sailing as well. Judo was wary that organizers would not use the 2019 World Championships as a test event though Coates said he believed the championships will ultimately be used as such. Sailing continued to address the need for coordination with fishermen in the bay to prevent issues during practice time. The first Tokyo 2020 test event for sailing will come in September.

IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi said that international federations’ concerns come from wanting "to contribute to solving issues".

"Tokyo 2020 has embraced, and presented, an issue resolution mechanism to the federations and to the project review, so we are getting in the right direction," Dubi added.

Mori, when queried to provide specifics on guidance from the IOC in the meeting, said there were "so many items" presented that it was impossible to single out a few. He said that organizers received feedback from the IOC and will "monitor our dialogue" to ensure quick responses with federations to keep progress smooth.

Regarding the issue of North Korean participation, the IOC says that the Olympic Charter gives the body the right to issue invitations to all National Olympic Committees to the Olympics, including North Korea. It is up to the NOCs to accept the invitations to the Games. Host countries must also guarantee free passage to accredited members of every NOC delegation.

"In all of this the IOC’s position is one of political neutrality and will remain that," Coates said. "I obviously have read about particular issue for Japanese for North Koreans participating here, I personally understand the terrible pain those who were taken away and those who were left behind have experienced, I also, I think I understand the burden for which your prime minister feels about this. I’ve observed these are matters that he’s continuing to pursue, the return of abducted Japanese and other issues no doubt as well as the demilitarization and denuclearization, and they are all matters he’s doing at a political level, and they are just not matters the IOC will or should become involved in."

Mori did not shut the door on North Korean participation, rather he chose to speak candidly on the issue by sharing his own opinion of future peace. He said that "North and South Korea were placed in an environment where they could talk" during PyeongChang 2018 and that it was good to feel optimistic about this week’s inter-Korean summit. Despite this, goodwill from the past led to "expectations [that] were betrayed".

The issue of North Korean abductions is still "reeling in the hearts of minds of the Japanese people," Mori, a former Prime Minister of Japan, said. Current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought the issue of abductions to U.S. President Donald Trump during a summit last week. Abe has sought a summit with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un as Kim meets with South Korean President Moon Jae-In and Trump in the coming months.

"A person of my age for example, we have lived under this difficult situation under the threat of nuclear weapons," Mori said. "Thirty some years [ago] our sovereignty was taken away but North Korea and Japan did not engage in direct wars, but deep in our hearts this is the trouble that everybody feels in Japan. So my strong wish is for the resolution for this issue, I pray for the resolution of these matters."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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