Japan's top COVID-19 adviser on Wednesday criticized International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach for visiting Tokyo again to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, saying it runs counter to "common sense" amid an alarming rise in coronavirus infections.
"I wonder why he bothered to come. He should be able to judge with normal, common sense," said Shigeru Omi, chairman of a government subcommittee on the coronavirus response, at a parliamentary committee session.
Omi questioned the rationale behind Bach's decision to travel again to Tokyo to take part in events related to the Paralympics, given that the Japanese government has been urging people to stay home to avoid nonessential outings and telework to help curb coronavirus infections.
Omi suggested his return to Tokyo would send the wrong message to the public, which has grown tired of prolonged COVID-19 restrictions.
"He has already come here. Hasn't he already also gone to Ginza? That's what I think as an ordinary person, not necessarily as a member of the expert committee," he said in response to a question from an opposition party lawmaker.
"If necessary, I think he can do it online," Omi added, a day after the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, the world's biggest event for athletes with disabilities, was held at the National Stadium without spectators.
The unusually forthright words from Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's COVID-19 adviser mirrors the irritation felt by many in the country.
While Suga's Cabinet is struggling with its lowest approval ratings in media polls since he took office last September, Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of Japan's COVID-19 response, said at a different Diet panel session on Wednesday that he wants to ask Bach to "take into consideration the impact on national sentiment."
Bach, invited by the International Paralympic Committee, arrived in Japan on Monday, at a time when controversy sparked by his action just before leaving Japan last time remains fresh in the minds of some people.
A day after the Olympics ended on Aug. 8, he was spotted strolling in Tokyo's Ginza upscale shopping district accompanied by bodyguards, even though athletes were required to follow strict COVID-19 rules and were barred from going sightseeing.
Pictures and videos of his visit to the shopping area were widely shared on social media, with many complaining of double standards.
As a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, the Paralympics, due to run through Sept. 5, will be held behind closed doors and turned into a largely TV-only event.
On Wednesday, Bach was seen at the nearly-empty venues of goalball and swimming.
After watching the swimming finals held at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre in the afternoon, he presented medals to athletes for a few events, including the men's 50-meter breaststroke SB3 class.
Since the beginning of the Olympics on July 23, Tokyo and many other areas have seen record daily cases of COVID-19, with health experts describing the current situation as being at "disaster level."
Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since mid-July, and the scope of the measure was further expanded Wednesday to include eight more prefectures, while its medical system is coming under strain from rising serious COVID-19 cases.
Omi, a former World Health Organization official, and other infectious disease experts had warned that coronavirus cases would swell after the start of the Olympics.
Suga and organizers of the Olympics and Paralympics have said the spike in COVID-19 cases in Tokyo has no direct link to the games.
But many critics have argued that the festive atmosphere created by the games lowered the public's guard against the COVID-19 crisis.
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