In his first presser in Tokyo, the chief of pandemic-hit Olympics made a major gaffe by confusing Japanese people with Chinese. Thomas Bach made the error while reassuring the Japanese people that the Games will not become a coronavirus super-spreader event, The Guardian reported.

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“Our common target is safe and secure Games,” Bach said.

“For everybody – for the athletes, for all the delegations, and most importantly also for the Chinese people … Japanese people,” he said.

Although the English-to-Japanese translators didn’t repeat the error, the same reported by the Japanese media stirred outrage on social media.

Despite the logistical challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed, the Olympics chief referred to the Games as “best-ever prepared.”

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Reassuring the Japanese people, Bach said that they can have confidence in all the efforts that were undertaken to make the mega-event “secure and safe.”

“You have managed to make Tokyo the best-ever prepared city for the Olympics,” he said, adding that the feat was “remarkable under the difficult circumstances.”

The Olympics at Tokyo will commence on July 23 and end on August 8.

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Bach, who arrived in the Japanese capital last Thursday, will meet Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Wednesday. 

The members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including Bach, have drawn criticism for insisting to start the Games on July 23, given the COVID cases are rising in several countries and the highly contagious Delta variant is fast spreading across the world.

On Tuesday, a day after the virus emergency came into effect in the capital, Japan recorded 830 COVID-19 cases. The country recorded 1,506 cases the previous day, which was up about 1.5-fold from a week before, Japan Times reported.

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The new COVID restrictions, which include a ban on serving alcohol at bars and restaurants, will remain in place till August 22. This has angered the pandemic-battered businesses who say they’re finding it difficult to survive. Also, fans have been barred from major sporting venues.