TOKYO, June 12, 2021—Just as anticipated: Major Japanese media entities June 12 reported that the G7 Cornwall summit has expressed support to Japan for holding the Tokyo Olympics – when in fact, only the host country U.K.’s Boris Johnson’s spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying as the only one news source.
Reuters’ dispatch from Carbis Bay, England, said:
‘CARBIS BAY, England–British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday (June 11, 2021 gave the Tokyo Olympics a show of public support at a meeting with Japan’s Yoshihide Suga and welcomed efforts to ensure the Games can take place safely.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which were postponed last year due to the global spread of the coronavirus, is scheduled to start on July 23.
At a meeting with Suga on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the British seaside resort of Carbis Bay, Johnson agreed to work together on a range of issues from trade and technology to defense and climate.
“The prime minister expressed his support for the Tokyo Olympics, and welcomed Japanese efforts to ensure the Games can take place safely,” a Downing Street spokesperson said after the meeting.
The Japanese government and Olympic organizers have said the Games will go ahead – barring “Armageddon”, as one International Olympic Committee (IOC) member put it.
Tokyo 2020 would be “grateful” if G7 countries could support the Summer Games going ahead as planned, Tokyo 2020 organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said on Friday.
“It is Japan’s expectation that the other members of the G7 countries share the idea of Japan,” said Tomoyuki Yoshida, press secretary at Japan’s Foreign Ministry. “It is quite encouraging for us for the G7 countries to support the efforts of Japan on this occasion as well.”
There was no meat in the article such as whether the alleged support was expressed on behalf of the UK or the G7, or its details at all.
Yomiuri, the largest circulation daily, splashed that the prime minister made a plea to other G7 leaders to send ‘powerful’ athletes to the games, treating Suga’s talks with other leaders were highly successful.
The Asahi Shimbun, the second largest national daily, reported in its English edition the full Reuters aritcle.
Japan’s Jiji Press wire service quoted deputy cabinet secretary Naoki Okada, accompanying PM Suga, was quoted as saying: ‘As I saw (the exchanges between the G7 leaders and Suga, the leaders) expressed support for the Tokyo games ‘with a smile’.’
NHK, the national broadcasting station, reported as its top news story that G7 leaders pledged support for the games, while covering hardly other more important global issues, including climate change, China’s expansionism, Russian hacking and espionage activities, restoring G7 unity and numerous other vital issues.
Save Reuters, which is selling ad space to the Japanese government (https://www.reuters.com/brandfeature/japan-in-the-new-decade) on its website, there has been no other non-Japanese media entity that reported about the G7 summit’s Olympic topic.
The way the Japanese media cover the G7 summit giving unusually heavy wegith to the Olympics suggests that they are now being almost forced to report that holding the games is a done deal. After the games are over in late August (or in September?), the media is set to be subject to greater government scrutiny and supervision, endangering the sustainability of Japan’s nascent democracy.
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