Panasonic Corp
FILE - Staff members rehearse a victory ceremony at the Beijing Medals Plaza of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China on Jan. 3, 2022. The Beijing Winter Olympics are fraught with potential hazards for major sponsors, who are trying to remain quiet about China's human rights record while protecting at least $1 billion they've paid to the IOC. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
IOC major sponsors mostly muted in runup to Beijing Olympics

By Stephen Wade Jan. 11, 2022 12:11 AM EST

FILE - Exiled Tibetans use the Olympic Rings as a prop as they hold a street protest against the holding of 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing in Dharmsala, India on Feb. 3, 2021. Leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics should explain publicly why they remain silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months, Human Rights Watch said Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 in a statement. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia, File)
Sponsors asked to defend support for Beijing Winter Olympics

By Stephen Wade Nov. 11, 2021 08:44 PM EST

In this image made from video, Julian Keane, sociologist at the Urban-Culture Research Center of Osaka City University, speaks during a video interview from Osaka, western Japan, on July 27, 2021. The racial diversity Japan showcased at the Olympic opening ceremony also highlights its lack in Japanese society. The population of people with multiracial and cultural backgrounds continues to rise through more international marriages and an influx of foreign workers, but tolerance to diversity still lags in a country that values homogeneity and conformity. (AP Photo)
Olympics carry a question: What does it mean to be Japanese?

By Mari Yamaguchi Aug. 04, 2021 04:42 AM EDT

Yuri Igarashi, right, a co-chair of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation speaks at a press conference in Tokyo Friday, June 4, 2021. Sexual minority groups and supporters, in their last ditch effort to get their long sought equality law before the Olympics, petitioned at offices of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party whose conservative members are resisting and stalling the legislation. (Kyodo News via AP)
Japan LGBTQ activists push for equality law before Olympics

By Mari Yamaguchi Jun. 04, 2021 09:06 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2018, file photo, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky speaks during an event in San Francisco. Airbnb Inc. is being asked to drop its sponsorship connections to 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics by a coalition of 150 human-rights campaigners. The coalition is headed by groups that oppose rights violations in China including widely reported genocide against Muslim Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region. An open letter sent on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 to Chesky argues that Airbnb is trying to drive tourism in China at the expense of Uyghurs and Tibetans who cannot travel freely in the country. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Airbnb asked to drop Olympic ties over China rights issues

By Stephen Wade Mar. 22, 2021 10:46 PM EDT

The Olympic rings are visible atop the Olympic Tower in Beijing, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. A small core of international lawyers and activists are prodding leading Olympic sponsors to acknowledge China's widely reported human-rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetans and other minorities. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Rights groups target sponsors like Airbnb for Beijing Games

By Stephen Wade Feb. 25, 2021 10:48 PM EST

Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto speaks to media after a video conference with the IOC executive board on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021, in Tokyo. Hashimoto, a former Olympics minister and seven time Olympian, was recently appointed the Tokyo 2020 president after her predecessor Yoshiro Mori quit following a backlash over sexist comments he made at an earlier meeting. (Takashi Aoyama/Pool Photo via AP)
Tokyo Olympic torch relay plans to kick off in one month

By Stephen Wade Feb. 24, 2021 09:35 PM EST

A countdown clock showing one year to go for the 2022 Beijing Olympics stands near the Olympics Tower, far center, and National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, which will again be a venue for the Olympics, in Beijing on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics will open a year from now. Most of the venues have been completed as the Chinese capital becomes the first city to hold both the Winter and Summer Olympics. Beijing held the 2008 Summer Olympics. But these Olympics are presenting some major problems. They are already scarred by accusations of rights abuses including "genocide"against more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic groups in western China. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Human rights, COVID at issue 1 year before Beijing Olympics

By Stephen Wade Feb. 04, 2021 01:20 AM EST

FILE - In this April 28, 2013, file photo, a Boeing 787 plane of the All Nippon Airways, ANA, prepares to land after a test flight at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Domestic sponsors have already contributed a record of $3.3 billion to help pay for the Tokyo Olympics. That's at least twice as much as any previous Games. Now they're being asked to pay millions more to cover some of the soaring costs of the one-year postponement. Among the domestic sponsors is Japanese airline ANA, which posted losses of $1.8 billion through the first half of the fiscal year. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)
Tokyo Games sponsors pay $3.3 billion, but more still needed

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade Dec. 11, 2020 01:02 AM EST

Refugee team of 6 athletes planned for Tokyo Paralympics

Oct. 28, 2020 11:11 AM EDT
BONN, Germany (AP) — A refugee team of up to six athletes is expected to compete at next year's Tokyo Paralympics, the International Paralympic Committee said...

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2016, file photo, Kenki Fukuoka, bottom, of Japan is tackled by Nikola Matawalu of Fiji during the international rugby union test match between Fiji and Japan at Stade de la Rabine in Vannes, western France. Japan speedster Fukuoka reportedly will forego the chance to compete in rugby sevens at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in order to pursue a medical career. The Japan Rugby Union announced that Fukuoka had left the national sevens squad. (AP Photo/David Vincent, File)
Fukuoka expected to miss Olympics to pursue medical studies

Jun. 13, 2020 12:49 AM EDT