IOC’s Bach slips up and refers to Japanese as ‘Chinese’

TOKYO (AP) — IOC President Thomas Bach has appeared in public for the first time since arriving in Tokyo last week and with the pandemic-postponed Olympics opening in just 10 days. His first stop was the headquarters of the organizing committee to deliver a pep talk with the beleaguered games set to go ahead without fans in almost all venues. Bach slipped up in his presentation and referred to his Japanese hosts as “Chinese.” He quickly corrected himself. Bach’s visit coincided with the official opening of the Olympic Village on Tokyo Bay. Bach is scheduled to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Friday in an effort to tie the Olympics to the city’s effort to promote world peace.