Olympic chief accused of insulting Hiroshima survivors by visiting atomic bombing site

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president plans to visit Hiroshima, but the residents of the city are calling for it to be cancelled because it would "dishonour" the victims of the bomb attack.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Thomas Bach has angered many Japanese with his decisions regarding Tokyo 2020.

On Friday, the first day of the Olympic Truce, he will visit the city's peace memorial park.

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According to the Kyodo news agency, Kunihiko Sakuma, a leader of a group that supports Hibakusha or Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors says that holding the Olympics during a time when many lives were lost due to the virus, runs counter to the Games' spirit, which should be one of peace.

Nearly 75,000 signatures have been collected in an online petition opposing the trip. As the petition's sponsors noted, Bach's visit came just 76 years after the Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico, which led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

According to Bach, his focus was just on marking the start of the Olympic Truce. He said that his visit was purely about peace and that this was the message he intended to convey in the city of peace of Hiroshima.

He also said that Politics will not factor into this and that this visit will not be politicized in any way.

Nihon Hidankyo, an organisation that represents survivors of both atomic bombings, has given no public comment on Bach's visit, butSueichi Kido, its secretary-generalsaid that he thought Bach should stay away.

It seems that Bach is using Hiroshima to further his cause, Kido told the Guardian in a personal capacity, stressing that he was speaking for himself.

He said that, despite Bach's claims, he doesn't trust anything Bach says, adding that the IOC is only interested in making money with these Olympics.

In addition to meeting Hidehiko Yuzaki, Hiroshima's governor and visiting the peace memorial park and museum, Bach will view the A-bomb dome, one of the few areas left standing after the attack on 6 August 1945.

A death toll of 80,000 of the 350,000 inhabitants of Hiroshima was recorded instantly; by the end of the year, it stood at 140,000, as survivors died from radiation-induced injuries or illnesses.

Tokyo 2020 organisers announced that the vice-president of the IOC John Coates will be visiting Nagasaki on Friday. He will lay a wreath at a memorial cenotaph at the peace park and the peace memorial hall.

Earlier this year, Coates sparked anger by saying the postponed Tokyo Games would "absolutely" take place even if the city were under a State of Emergency due to COVID-19.

A sharp rise in cases has prompted Tokyo to put in place emergency measures, including banning alcohol sales in bars and restaurants. The number of new infections reached 1,149 on Thursday, the most in nearly six months.

Bach said the cancellation was never an option, describing the games as a moment to show solidarity with the world during the pandemic.

It would have been a tragedy to lose a whole generation of athletes if the cancellation would have occurred," stated he in an interview with Kyodo.