Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Seiko Hashimoto speaks during the video meeting of the 10th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad - Tokyo 2020 in Tokyo, Japan, Sept. 24, 2020.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The Beijing 2022 Organizing Committee on Saturday congratulated Seiko Hashimoto on her appointment as the president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee.

"We believe that Seiko Hashimoto will be able to unite all parties to deal with the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and lead the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee to deliver successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," the Beijing 2022 organizers said in statement.

"The sudden outbreak of the pandemic has brought great challenges to the preparation for the Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics. During this period, with the strong support of the International Olympic Committee, the Beijing Organizing Committee and the Tokyo Organizing Committee have established extensive and close relationship, and conducted constructive and effective communication and cooperation.

"We hope that the two organizing committees in China and Japan further strengthen their collaboration to overcome the challenges and work unremittingly to ensure the successful delivery of the Tokyo Olympics and the Beijing Winter Olympics, making new contributions to the development of the international Olympic movement," the statement read.

56-year-old Hashimoto was appointed on Thursday as the Tokyo 2020 president, replacing Yoshiro Mori who quit last week for making sexist comments about women.