The 23-year-old Hachimura’s father is from Benin and his mother is Japanese. He said carrying the national flag is “a great honor”.
He said in a statement: “I hope this is an opportunity for Japanese children and everyone else to have the opportunity to watch my teammates and me at the Olympic Games, and to develop more interest in basketball and sports. .”
In May, Hachimura criticized racism on social media, saying that he received racist messages “almost every day.”
The details of the opening ceremony have been kept confidential. Local media reported that in order to take Covid-19 measures, such as keeping a distance, the time will be extended by half an hour.
However, it is not clear how many seats (if any) the National Stadium will fill.
The organizers have limited the number of domestic fans to 10,000, which is half of the capacity of each stadium.
But Seiko Hashimoto, the president of the game, warned on Friday that “no audience is a choice.”
