Japan yesterday appointed a new Olympics minister to replace a gaffe-prone politician forced to step down after the latest in a string of embarrassing missteps.
With fewer than 500 days to go until the opening ceremony, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that he had reappointed the “experienced” Shunichi Suzuki, who served as Olympics minister in 2017 and last year.
“I hope Mr Suzuki ... will recover trust [among the public] and lead us toward a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Abe told reporters.
Suzuki’s appointment came after his predecessor, Yoshitaka Sakurada, quit late on Wednesday after comments seen as disrespectful to survivors of the 2011 tsunami.
He reportedly told a political gathering that securing the re-election of a local lawmaker was more important than recovery in the area hit by the quake-triggered tsunami and nuclear meltdown.
“Contribution to the reconstruction effort of disaster-hit areas is a main focus of Tokyo 2020, and we will continue our efforts to prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Games ... with the key aim of helping to restrengthen those areas,” Tokyo 2020 organizers said in a statement.
Suzuki yesterday said that Sakurada’s comments were “inappropriate” and vowed to push forward with reconstruction.
Sakurada’s comments were the latest in a series of controversial statements that raised questions about his suitability to steer next year’s Olympics.
He also held the cybersecurity portfolio and became a laughing stock after he said that he “does not use computers.”
In February, he was forced to apologize after suggesting that the leukemia diagnosis of star Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee could dampen enthusiasm for the Games.
Sakurada’s resignation also came only a month after Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda announced that he would step down in June.
Takeda is the subject of French investigations involving payments made before Tokyo was awarded the Games.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was