Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that he will not be attending the Beijing Winter Games. But as of now, Japan still has not made a decision on whether or not Tokyo should send a delegation, and, if it does, on the composition of that delegation.
Japanese media appears divided over Tokyo’s possible response. While liberal papers have either been silent or declined to take a position, other dailies are more insistent. The Nikkei, an economic daily, for example, wrote in an editorial: “Even if it is not a complete diplomatic boycott, we should take some measures such as adjusting the scale and level of the delegation.”
A more conservative Sankei editorial argued that the government should not send a delegation “including the prime minister, Cabinet ministers and the head of the sports agency.” The conservative Yomiuri Shimbun was less critical but claimed “we must not allow the peace festival to become a propaganda venue for China.”