THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 20, 2021 at 19:12 JST
A man believed to be a Ugandan athlete who went missing after entering Japan for the Tokyo Olympics was found in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, on July 20, according to Osaka prefectural police.
Aichi prefectural police were searching for Julius Ssekitoleko, 20, a weightlifter who came to Japan as one of the nine Ugandan Olympic delegation members.
He was staying in Izumisano, Osaka Prefecture, for a pre-Olympic training camp, but was due to leave the country on July 20 after it was decided that he could not participate in the Games as a member of the Ugandan team.
Footage of a security camera installed at JR Nagoya Station showed a man who looks like Ssekitoleko passing through a ticket gate, according to investigative sources.
Another security camera at JR Kumatori Station in Osaka Prefecture captured him buying a ticket for a Shinkansen bound for Nagoya at around 6:30 a.m. on July 16, the day when he went missing.
Sources said he left a note in his hotel room, saying, “I won’t return to Uganda because life is tough there. I want to work in Japan. Please send the luggage in my room to my family.”
Athletes staying in Japan for the Games are banned from traveling, except for shuttling between their accommodation facilities and competition venues, in principle.
Local officials are searching for a Ugandan athlete who went missing
July 17, 2021
In policy shift, airports to ID those at risk of COVID-19
June 27, 2021
Kintetsu Railway plans to haul industrial items on express trains
March 29, 2021
Uganda case raises fears athletes may slip through net
June 21, 2021
Controversial exhibit effectively canceled after explosion in mail
July 9, 2021
Family of Sri Lankan woman still pressing for disclosure
May 30, 2021
Stories about memories of cherry blossoms solicited from readers
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series on the death of a Japanese woman that sparked a debate about criminal justice policy in the United States
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
JR Nagoya Station in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
