Complications around the comment of Mr. Inose about Olympic

A comment of Mr. Naoki Inose, the governor of Tokyo, caused a lot of fuss.

In an interview in New York, he blamed Istanbul, one of competitors against Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, appealing Tokyo's advantages, according to The New York Times (NYT).

In Promoting His City for 2020 Games,Tokyo’s Bid Chairman Tweaks Others

His comment, “Islamic countries, the only thing they share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes” was deemed to be problematic. International Olympic Committee Code of Ethics prohibits bidders from criticizing on rival cities.

Mr. Inose claimed that this article of NYT did not report his own opinion precisely on his Facebook Page. He said he liked Istanbul privately and he had no intention to criticize other competitors.

Over 200 comments are posted to this entry. As far as I understand, opinions of the replies are various. Some blame NYT. Others criticize the carelessness of Mr. Inose. There are also comments emphasizing international friendship more than hosting Olympic.

Tokyo 2020 bid claimed that it was doubtful whether Mr. Inose's speech had been translated exactly.

Istanbul is "one of my favourite cities" claims Tokyo Governor as he tries to end Olympic bid row

Then, NYT stood by the article soon after the announcement of the comment of Mr. Inose. According to NYT, reporters were familiar with Japanese language, and Mr. Inose was also accompanied with a translator.

The Mainichi: NY Times stands by article on interview with Tokyo Gov. Inose

Tokyo side might feel disadvantageous. Mr. Inose publicly apologized about his comment at Apr. 30, 2013. His whole comment was published at his official website both in Japanese and English.

National Post: Tokyo governor Naoki Inoseapologizes for insulting Istanbul ahead of Olympic bid

According to Sankei News, He told that he could not avoid making comment including a comparison against other cities to emphasize the advantages of Tokyo.

Actually, I hardly know about the character of Mr. Inose. He was working as a deputy governor of Tokyo under the control of Mr. Shintaro Ishihara. Mr. Ishihara, past governor and now the president of Japan Restoration Party, is a very aggressive person.

I think what Mr. Inose said exactly is not so important. As he said, negative campaigns are more or less inevitable in any voting. How to deflect emotion of voters is always decisive for the victory. I think that Mr. Inose's decision of early apologizing will be successful.