Bach: "Without Abe, the Tokyo Games would not have been held"

The president of the IOC, German Thomas Bach, said the Olympic Movement had “lost a friend” in the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated on Friday during an electoral action in his country, and convinced that without him The Tokyo 2020 Games “would never have been held”.

“Japan has lost a great statesman and the IOC has lost a brave supporter and dear friend of the Olympic Movement. On behalf of the International Olympic Committee, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to his family, friends and Japanese citizens. ” Bach said in a statement.

“Shinzo Abe is a man with vision, full of determination and boundless strength to make that vision a reality. What I value most about him is that he is a man of his word,” the sports official added.

“Only his vision, determination and reliability have allowed us to make the unprecedented decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Without Prime Minister Shinzo Abe these Olympic Games would never have taken place and the Olympic dreams of athletes around the world will never come true. “Hopefully it will come true,” Bach said.

Abe as prime minister accompanied the entire process of organizing the Tokyo 2020 Games, from providing the venue in 2013 to postponing sports events in 2021 due to the pandemic. However, he did not take the Games from the position of chief executive because he resigned a few months before, in September 2020, due to health problems.

At the time, Thomas Bach assured: “His commitment is very important for the Tokyo Organizing Committee to be more prepared than ever. In these years, Prime Minister Abe has been a strong partner who has always defended Japan’s interests and so, at the same time.time, always trustworthy.

Thanks to him, he added, “they have found solutions, even in the most difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing their vision for Japan to come true, even a year late.”

In mourning his death, the Olympic flag will fly over half -staff at the Olympic House in Lausanne for three days, the IOC said.

Shinzo Abe was shot in the back while giving a campaign speech on the street in the city of Nara. The conservative leader is in an action for partial elections in the Upper House of the Diet (Parliament of Japan) to be held this Sunday, where Abe’s PLD and the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, hope to reaffirm his vast majority. . The shots fired at a former member of the Japanese troops who was immediately arrested

For his part, the president of the International Paralympic Committee, Brazilian Andrew Parsons, expressed himself “deeply saddened” by the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom he described as “a visionary leader” and emphasized that in his work. he helped to “create a better and more inclusive society”.

“I would first like to say on behalf of the International Paralympic Committee how much we regret Shinzo Abe’s family, his friends, the Japanese Paralympic Committee and everyone he has worked with in Tokyo 2020, and the Japanese nation,” Parsons said in a statement. .

“We are very excited that something like this will happen in the 21st century, especially in Japan. Abe has been instrumental in securing the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He greatly appreciates the opportunity the Games will bring to Japan, not just to development of sport but also of long-term heritage, ”he said.

“Abe is a very good friend and ardent supporter of the Paralympic movement. He is a visionary leader and I know he fully understands what the Paralympic Games can do for Japan’s population with disabilities. That’s why he fought so hard. and became supportive, focused on the rhythm of preparation for the Games, “he said.

“Although he was not Prime Minister during the Games, he played an important role and his work leaves an important legacy of social inclusion. The lives of people with disabilities in Japan have improved thanks to programs and important laws included in this Paralympic Games ”, he pointed out.

Finally, Parsons assured that “Abe has helped create a more inclusive and diverse Japan with an opportunity open to all to realize their full potential.”