JAPANESE GOVT OFFICIALS TO SKIP BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS OVER RIGHTS ABUSE

TOKYO: Japan won’t send any government representatives to the Beijing Winter Olympics, effectively throwing its support behind the US-led diplomatic boycott of the games that start in February.

Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced on Friday that Japan would dispatch three top members of the teams that helped organise this year’s Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. He added the government had reached its own decision on the matter and was not using the term “diplomatic boycott” to describe it.

“Our country believes it is important that the universal values of freedom, basic human rights and the rule of the law be guaranteed in China,” Matsuno told reporters, when asked about the reasons for the move. “As Tokyo 2020 showed, the Olympics and Paralympics are a festival of peace and sport that gives courage to the world.”

‘Japan, US draw up plan for Taiwan emergency’

Japanese and US armed forces have drawn up a draft plan for a joint operation for a possible Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency said on Thursday, citing unnamed Japanese government sources, amid increased tensions between the island and China.

On Friday, Japan’s cabinet approved a record 5.4 trillion yen ($47 billion) defence budget for fiscal 2022 that includes funding for research and development of a new fighter jet and other “game-changing” weapons as Japan bolsters its defence capabilities in response to China’s growing military might.