International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has paid tribute to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated during a political event earlier on Friday.
Abe was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2020, with Tokyo elected host of the 2020 Olympics in 2013.
He famously dressed up as the video game character Super Mario at the handover ceremony at the 2016 Games in Rio.
The 67-year-old Abe then played a key role that the Games were postponed by one year and not cancelled in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic 2020.
He died in hospital after he was shot by a gunman during an election campaign event in the city of Nara.
“Japan has lost a great statesman, and the IOC has lost a valiant supporter and a dear friend of the Olympic Movement. On behalf of the IOC, I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to his family, his friends and the Japanese people,” Bach said in an IOC statement.
“Abe Shinzo was a man with a vision, full of determination and boundless energy to make his vision come true. What I appreciated most about him was that he was a man of his word.
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“Only his vision, determination and dependability allowed us to take the unprecedented decision to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
“Without Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, these Olympic Games would never have happened, and the Olympic dream of athletes from all around the world would not have come true.
“The entire Olympic Movement and I owe him all our respect and gratitude. This is why we will forever hold Abe Shinzo in great honour.”
Abe supported the Games in spite of skyrocketing costs before stepping down in September 2020 for health reasons, succeeded by Yoshihide Suga.
He did not attend the prestigious opening ceremony of the Games in July 2021.
The IOC said the Olympic flag would be flown at half-mast at Olympic House in Lausanne for three days as a mark of honour.
