Japanese judo and skating officials decided Wednesday to rescind plans to send delegations to Grand Prix events in Europe this month in the wake of U.S. and British air strikes on Afghanistan over the weekend.
The All-Japan Judo Federation withdrew plans to send a team of top-level judoka, including world silver-medalist Yusuke Kanemaru, to Moscow for the Grand Prix tournament opening there Saturday.
"We talked with the top officials of the federation to make our decision," men's national team head coach Hitoshi Saito said. "We decided that there is the possibility that terrorists would strike in retaliation (to the air strikes in Afghanistan)."
Judo officials said they would continue to see what develops over the coming weeks before deciding whether or not to send a delegation to the women's judo Grand Prix event in Spain in November.
Meanwhile, the Japan Skating Federation said it would not send anyone to compete in the junior Grand Prix competition in the Netherlands on Oct. 25.
The federation's recently formed committee on dangers related to last month's terrorist attacks in the United States determined that the venue of the skating competition might be in danger and canceled plans to send a coach and competitor to the meet in The Hague.
The federation said it plans to dispatch its delegations as planned to other international meets scheduled in October, but added that it would take into consideration the wishes of the athletes and their families.