Statement by IOC President Thomas Bach on Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's resignation

It is with great sadness that I learned about the resignation of Prime Minister Abe.

First of all, I would like to wish him all the very best in his fight against this disease with all the strength we know him to have. At the same time, I would like to thank Prime Minister Abe for his great leadership in getting the Olympic Games back to Japan after the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964, and in overseeing and supporting the overall preparation of these Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

His engagement was crucial to making the Tokyo Organising Committee the best prepared ever. Throughout these years, Prime Minister Abe was a strong partner who always stood up for the interests of Japan, and who at the same time could always be trusted. In this way, we were able to find solutions, even in the most difficult circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, which allow his vision for Japan to still come true, even if with one year’s delay.

All the Japanese athletes and the athletes of the entire world are very grateful to him.