French President Emmanuel Macron met his Japanese counterpart on Saturday and took in some Olympic judo motion after watching Tokyo 2020’s opening ceremony in a virtually empty stadium.
Macron is in Tokyo for the virus-postponed summer time Video games, with the 2024 version of the sporting extravaganza set to happen in Paris.
He was one among round 1,000 officers and VIPs, together with US First Girl Jill Biden, within the stands for Friday’s opening ceremony.
Common ticket-holders have been barred to restrict the unfold of Covid-19 as circumstances surge within the metropolis, forcing virtually all Video games occasions behind closed doorways.
On Saturday, Macron held talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and prime executives from a few of Japan’s greatest companies.
The French president hailed the 2 nations’ “distinctive” relationship after assembly Suga.
“At a time after we are all combating in opposition to the virus, striving for restoration, this partnership is a energy,” he tweeted.
Macron and Suga wore masks and exchanged a double fist-bump in lieu of a handshake.
Tokyo is at present underneath a virus state of emergency, which limits alcohol gross sales and restaurant opening hours.
Coronavirus guidelines have pressured Macron to scale back his delegation to a minimal, and he’s travelling with only a single minister.
The president on Saturday went to look at Olympic judo occasions — a extremely in style sport in France. French judoka Teddy Riner is trying to change into the primary heavyweight to win three Olympic titles.
In a joint assertion, Macron and Suga repeated their dedication to a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
They stated they mentioned the combat in opposition to local weather change, which “will not be a constraint however a chance for innovation and job creation”.
Their assertion additionally touched on the difficulty of parental abduction in Japan, which doesn’t provide joint custody for kids in circumstances of divorce or separation.
“The 2 nations are working to strengthen their dialogue whereas prioritising the youngsters’s greatest pursuits,” it stated.
The topic has been within the headlines since a French father in Tokyo started a starvation strike to win entry to his youngsters, who he says have been kidnapped by their Japanese mom.
Vincent Fichot has not seen his two youngsters in practically three years and commenced a starvation strike exterior the Olympic Stadium on July 10. Macron’s advisors met with Fichot on Thursday.
(AFP)
