Tokyo 2020 Bid Chairman Inose on NYT Report of His Criticism of Rivals: "My True Meaning Was Not Accurately Conveyed"

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130429-00000095-jij-spo

translated by Brett Larner

In response to an article in the American New York Times newspaper reporting negative comments by Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid chairman and Tokyo governor Naoki Inose about Tokyo's rivals for the 2020 summer Olympics, on April 29 Governor Inose commented, "The focus of the article made it sound if Tokyo was criticizing the other candidate cities, but my true meaning was not accurately conveyed."

International Olympic Committee conduct guidelines for bid candidates specify, "Cities shall refrain from any act or comment likely to tarnish the image of a rival city or be prejudicial to it. Any comparison with other cities is strictly forbidden." With regard to this stipulation Governor Inose said, "I fully comprehend the regulations and am in compliance with them." He added, "Personally I like Istanbul just fine. I have no intent whatsoever to criticize the other bid candidate cities and it is extremely unfortunate that an article taking what was said in an interview out of context like this was released."

Update: Japanese broadcast media are now reporting a statement from the New York Times saying, "We have complete faith in the accuracy of the reporting in this article."

Additional English-language articles on the Inose situation:

Tokyo 2020 facing IOC Ethics Commission rap after Governor's comments about Istanbul -- Inside the Games

Tokyo’s 2020 Olympics bid faces reprimand for Inose’s comments on Istanbul -- Japan Daily Press

Tokyo 2020 organizers say they ‘respect’ IOC bid rules after governor’s remarks on Istanbul -- Washington Post

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