Japan pardons Asian Games supremo over Taiwan row

Japan pardons Asian Games supremo over Taiwan row

TOKYO (AFP): The Japanese Olympic committee backed down
yesterday from threats to withdraw support for Asian sport
supremo Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad for inviting Taiwan's president to
the Asian Games.

Japan's national Olympic committee president Hironishin
Furuhashi said "the situation is moving toward a settlement."

Furuhashi said the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) decision to
bar political figures" from the Asian Games next month in
Hiroshima had eased tension.

"We will not call him (Sheikh Ahmad) to account unless the
situation is strained further," Furuhashi told a news conference.

Furuhashi suggested Tuesday that Japan might not support
Sheikh Ahmad's re-election to the presidency of the OCA because
of the invitation he sent to President Lee Teng-hui. The national
committee's executive board decided Wednesday though not to press
ahead with the threat.

The Kuwait sheik's invitation drew protests from Beijing and
the threat of a Chinese boycott.

Furuhashi and other Japanese sport leaders lobbied for a
solution to the stalemate during the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) Congress in Paris last month. Press reports said
this led to the OCA statement banning "political figures."

The statement effectively revoked the invitation to Lee even
though Taiwan officials insist his planned visit will go ahead.

Furuhashi, who returned Tuesday from the world swimming
championships in Rome, was quoted as telling Japanese reporters
that his committee should re-examine its support for Sheikh
Ahmad's reelection.

He also accused the OCA chief of "bringing politics into the
domain of sport."

A national committee spokesman said Furuhashi had only
"grasped the whole situation after making the remarks at the
airport."

Uncontested

Sheikh Ahmad, 33, took over OCA leadership in 1990 after his
father Sheikh Fahad al-Ahmad al-Sabah was killed in Iraq's
invasion of Kuwait. The son will stand uncontested in OCA's
election during the Oct. 2-16 Games.

Sheikh Fahad had dominated the OCA after it was created in
1983 to replace its predecessor, the Asian Games Federation,
although the East Asian nations of China, South Korea and Japan
excelled in competition.

Ichiro Ogimura, president of the International Table Tennis
Federation, who accompanied Furuhashi to the IOC Congress, told
reporters that he was against questioning confidence in Sheikh
Ahmad.

"A vote of no-confidence against him means a vote of no-
confidence against Taiwan. It will sow a rift in Asia," he said.

Beach volleyball

In Hiroshima, beach volleyball will make its Asian Games debut
as an exhibition tournament with 14 countries taking part.

The tournament will be held October 8-10 at the Ogaki beach to
mark the sport's selection as an official event at the 1996
Atlanta Olympics, organizers said.

New Zealand are favorites in the men's contest which brings
together 21 teams from 14 countries which also include Australia,
Bahrain, China, Indonesia, India, Iran, South Korea, Kuwait,
Malaysia, the Maldives, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan.

The women's tournament pits three teams from fancied Japan
against one team each from Australia, China, South Korea,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan and two from Indonesia.