Director of Tokyo opening ceremony fired
Print Edition
TOKYO Olympics organizers have fired the opening ceremony director on the eve of the event after reports emerged of a past joke he had made about the Holocaust.
The latest in a series of embarrassments for the Tokyo organizers comes just days after a well-known musician was forced to step down as composer for the ceremony after old reports of his bullying and abusive behavior surfaced.
Earlier this year, the head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee resigned after making sexist remarks, and the Tokyo Olympics creative head followed after he made derogatory comments about a popular Japanese female entertainer.
Tokyo Games organizers fired Kentaro Kobayashi yesterday over a joke he made about the Holocaust as part of a comedy act in the 1990s that recently resurfaced in domestic media.
“I offer my deep apology for causing trouble and worry for many people concerned as well as Tokyo residents and Japanese people when the opening ceremony is almost upon us,” said a somber Seiko Hashimoto, who heads the organizing committee.
Earlier, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, released a statement saying Kobayashi’s association with the Olympics would “insult the memory” of the 6 million Jewish people who perished in the Holocaust.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said comments by the show director were “outrageous and unacceptable” but that the opening ceremony should proceed as planned.
Kobayashi apologized for his past comments in a statement.
The opening ceremony today is set to be a subdued affair, with just 950 people, including around 15 global leaders, set to attend. Spectators have been barred from most Olympic events as COVID-19 cases surge. Tokyo reported 1,979 new coronavirus cases in the capital yesterday, the highest since January 15. Only a third of Japanese have had at least one dose of the vaccine.
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