Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike on Thursday welcomed Hashimoto Seiko’s appointment as the new President of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“With her wealth of experience as an athlete, having competed in a total of seven Olympic Games (four Winter Olympics and three Summer Olympics), I have high expectations that she will approach running the Games from an athlete’s perspective,” Koike said in a statement.

As Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Hashimoto has worked hard representing the national government in the lead up to the Games while simultaneously serving as Minister in charge of Women’s Empowerment.

Koike said she is convinced that Hashimoto will strive to achieve “Unity in Diversity”, one of the visions of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

Governor Koike also noted there is now less than six months to go to the Tokyo 2020 Games. In March, the long-awaited Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay will kick off in Fukushima Prefecture.

She added that as the host city, Tokyo will take every possible measure to stop the spread of COVID-19 and continue working closely with Tokyo 2020 President Hashimoto and all parties concerned, including the national government, International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee, to realize a safe and secure Games.