Bad times for Tokyo. A little over four months before the IOC's choice of host city for the 2020 Summer Games, the Japanese candidacy has just discovered a new weak point. Unexpected but rather unfortunate: its president. Naoki Inose, the governor of Tokyo, indulged in criticizing the file of Istanbul, the main rival in the race for the Olympics, during an interview given to the New York Times. A verbal slip-up which could have harmful consequences for Tokyo 2020.
Beyond the manner, not really fair play, and the nature of the remarks, which are not very elegant, Naoki Inose's approach poses a serious problem for the Japanese candidacy: it violates rule 14 of the IOC code of conduct for the candidate cities for the Games. A very strict rule, like everything that emanates from the Olympic institution, where it is written in black and white and without nuance that a candidacy is prohibited from criticizing in one way or another one or more of its rivals. No comments that could tarnish the image of a competitor are tolerated. Worse: it is even forbidden to dare to make the slightest comparison with another file. Clearly, candidates can talk about themselves as much as they want, but be careful not to speak about the competition.
In New York, Naoki Inose forgot this rule. Questioned by two journalists from the daily, both excellent specialists in Japan and speaking Japanese, the governor magnified the strengths of Tokyo's candidacy, extolling the merits of Japanese culture, its hospitality and the quality of the already existing sports infrastructure. Above all, the Asian leader criticized Istanbul and Turkey. Taking up one of the assets highlighted in the Turkish file, namely the youth of its population, Naoki Inose explained: “ They may have a lot of young, but if they die young, it doesn't matter much. »
Another statement from the governor of Tokyo contrary to IOC rules, this religious remark: “ Islamist countries, the only thing they have in common is Allah, and they spend their time fighting each other. »
In Tokyo, the governor's comments plunged the bid team into some embarrassment. One of its spokespersons tried to calm things down by explaining to New York Times that Naoki Inose did not want to criticize Istanbul, and that Tokyo had the “greatest respect” for its two rivals. In Istanbul, the bid team played a low profile, contenting themselves with a brief statement assuring that they did not want to make any comments. In Lausanne, at the IOC headquarters, the ethics commission should soon look into the matter and discuss a possible reprimand to be addressed to the Japanese.
One thing is certain: the comments made by Naoki Inose during this interview conducted in New York betray a form of concern on the part of the Japanese candidacy regarding the progress of the Turkish file. Tokyo fears Istanbul. To the point of making certain mistakes.
