“We have received a lot of very encouraging information, so I feel there’s plenty of reason for optimism,” Ito told a press conference, four days before the Games open in the northern Italian city.
“We believe that good results will follow when the athletes are able to perform at their very best. From our point of view, we would like to do everything we can to support the athletes so that they can win more medals to surpass the best record at the previous Beijing (Winter) Games.”
In Beijing Japan won medals across seven different sports with three gold medals. A total of 120 Japanese athletes have been registered for the 2026 Games with another 161 being coaches and staff. The Japanese team will also be closely monitoring social media to block any online abuse of athletes. Some Japanese athletes had been the target of online abuse at the 2024 Paris Games.
–Reuters–
