Dec 26, 2021 - World

Japan won't send diplomatic delegation to Beijing Olympics

Ivana Saric

Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan's chief cabinet secretary — Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, center, walks inside the lower house of parliament on Dec. 6. Photo: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Japan has decided not to send a government delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Reuters reported.

Why it matters: A number of countries, including the U.S., have announced diplomatic boycotts of the Beijing Games to protest human rights abuses committed by China's government.

But although Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno noted during the Friday briefing that Japan "believes that respect for human rights is important," he did not explicitly define the move as a diplomatic boycott, per CNN.

Driving the news: Japan will still send a contingent of officials with direct ties to the Games, such as Tokyo Olympics Chief Seiko Hashimoto, Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita and Japan's Paralympic Chief Kazuyuki Mori, CNN reported.

Japan has typically been less vocal about human rights issues in China due in part to strong economic ties between the two nations, per Reuters.

Go deeper: Beijing Olympics: These countries have announced diplomatic boycotts

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Japan won't send diplomatic delegation to Beijing Olympics

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