This is the full text of the words spoken by Mr. Akishinomiya at the union ceremony of the Japanese athletes at the Beijing Olympics.
Today, I am very pleased to say hello to all of TEAM JAPAN who will participate in the 24th Olympic Winter Games, which will be held from February 4th in Beijing, China. At this Olympic Games, in addition to ski freestyle big air men and women and Bobsley women’s single-seater, four new mixed events will be added in ski jumping, freestyle aerial, snowboard cross, and skate short track relay. I heard that there will be 109 events in 7 competitions, which exceeds the previous Pyeongchang Games. I think that it was often very difficult to prepare for this tournament, including the practice environment, due to the influence of COVID-19. Under such circumstances, I would like to congratulate all the participants for being able to represent Japan after a rigorous selection process. This time, the tournament will be held in an environment that is significantly different from the usual Winter Olympics. We hope that all the participants will be able to fully demonstrate their daily achievements at the competition while paying close attention to the response to infectious diseases. We also hope that you will strive for international goodwill through sports. We pray for everyone’s success and use these words for the unity ceremony.
