Japan’s Morinari Watanabe Enters IOC Presidential Race
12:09 JST, September 17, 2024
London (Jiji Press)—Japan’s Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation and a member of the International Olympic Committee, is running for the IOC presidency, the committee said Monday.
Watanabe, 65, is one of the seven candidates announced by the IOC to succeed Thomas Bach as president of the committee.
The IOC will hold a presidential election in March 2025 as Bach’s current term expires in June that year.
Bach, 70, who is from Germany, is the ninth IOC president. He assumed the post in 2013 and is now serving his second term.
It is the first time that a Japanese has run for the presidency of the IOC, which was launched in 1894.
Watanabe is also an executive board member of the Japanese Olympic Committee. He was involved in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, held in 2021 after a one-year postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as an executive board member of the Tokyo Games organizing committee.
Others who entered the IOC presidential race include Britain’s Sebastian Coe, 67, president of the World Athletics, Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch, 64, IOC vice president, and Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry, 41, an Olympic swimming champion and a member of the IOC Executive Board.
Of the previous and incumbent IOC presidents, eight are from Europe and one is from the United States. From Asia, South Korea’s Kim Un-yong ran for the IOC presidency in 2001, and Singapore’s Ser Miang Ng and Taiwan’s Wu Ching-kuo in 2013, but they were defeated.
The new president will be elected by a vote of over 100 IOC members for a first term of eight years until 2033. The candidates will explain their commitments to the IOC members in January next year.
An IOC presidential candidate must remain an IOC member during the election period. An IOC president must also remain an IOC member during his or her term in office. In principle, the retirement age for IOC members is 70.
"Sports" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Japanese Paralympic Archer Chika Shigesada Withdraws from Paris Games in Wake of Defamation of Other Athlete
-
Swallows Star Norichika Aoki to Retire after 21 Seasons; Has Combined 2,723 Hits in Japan and Major Leagues
-
Kenya Karasawa Claims Silver in Men’s 5,000-Meter T11 Event at Paris Paralympics; Brazil’s Agripino dos Santos Wins Gold
-
Kyoto International Captures Japan’s High School Baseball Title for 1st Time; Edges Kanto Daiichi in 1st-Ever Use of Extra-Inning Tiebreaker at Koshien
-
Kimura Bags 2nd Gold in Men’s 100-Meter Butterfly; Broke His Personal Record from Tokyo Games
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Philippines Steps Up Defense of Northernmost Province with Eye on Possible Contingency Involving Taiwan
- Tokyo Companies Prepare for Ashfall From Mt. Fuji Eruption; Disposal Of Ash, Possibly at Sea, A Major Challenge
- Insufficient Rice Supply Hits Japan; Sever Heat, Rising Demand from Inbound Tourist Among Factors
- Shizuoka Pref. City Offers Foreigners Free Japanese Language Classes; Aims to Raise Non-Natives to Daily Conversation Level
- Strong Typhoon Shanshan Predicted to Approach Western, Eastern Japan Earliest on Wednesday