Prime Minister
Welcomes VIPs to Games (February 8)
At a reception held in a Nagano City
hotel following the Opening Ceremony on
February 7, Japanese Prime Minister
Ryutaro Hashimoto welcomed foreign
dignitaries who had come to Japan for the
first day of the Winter Olympics. The
prime minister opened the reception with
the words: "Let there be peace
throughout the world beginning tomorrow.
The Olympic Games are a festival of
peace, and peace is what all of Japan
wishes for. I wish the young competitors
from around the globe the best of luck in
their events."
Hashimoto also spoke with
International Olympic Committee Chairman
Juan Antonio Samaranch about the current
problems in Iraq, where the United
Nations is looking for weapons of mass
destruction. The two agreed that it would
be best if the issue could be resolved
through diplomacy.
In other talks with Hashimoto,
Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy
agreed to keep working toward a complete
ban on land mines. The prime minister
also thanked Chris Moon, a British man
who lost his arm and leg to a land mine,
for running in the Olympic torch relay
earlier that day. Mr. Moon said he was
"very happy to run with the children
in the ceremony."
Other guests at the reception
included King Juan Carlos I of Spain,
Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Prime
Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik of Norway,
and the sports and culture ministers from
many nations. (Shinano Mainichi Shimbun)
|