is a Japanese businessman who has served as president of the

Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique The International Gymnastics Federation (French language, French: ''Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique'', abbr. FIG) is the body governing competition in all disciplines of gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It wa ...

since January 2017. Prior to his election in October 2016, he served as general-secretary of the Japan Gymnastics Association (2009–16) and was on multiple committees with the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

. Watanabe is the ninth president of the FIG and its first Asian president. In October 2018, the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

elected him as a new member. He was also appointed an executive board member of

Tokyo 2020 The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. In September 2024, he was announced as one of seven candidates in the running to succeed

Thomas Bach Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953) is a German lawyer, former foil fencer, and Olympic gold medalist. He has served as the ninth president of the International Olympic Committee since 2013, the first ever Olympic champion to be elected to tha ...

as IOC president. During the 144th IOC Session in March 2025, he got four votes, with

Kirsty Coventry Kirsty Leigh Coventry Seward (née Coventry; born 16 September 1983) is a Zimbabwean politician, sports administrator and former competitive swimmer. She will become the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee in June 2025, being ...

winning the election.

References

External links

FIG: About the President
1959 births Living people Presidents of the International Gymnastics Federation People from Kitakyushu Tokai University alumni Japanese International Olympic Committee members {{Japan-artistic-gymnastics-bio-stub