Japanese minister sorry over Ikee gaffe
Print Edition
Japan鈥檚 gaffe-prone Olympics Minister was forced to apologize yesterday after suggesting that the leukemia diagnosis of 18-year-old star swimmer Rikako Ikee could dampen enthusiasm for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The shock announcement of Ikee 鈥 widely considered the poster girl for next year鈥檚 Olympics 鈥 that she was battling the disease touched the hearts of Japanese and sparked an outpouring of well-wishes. However, the minister, Yoshitaka Sakurada, appeared to voice sadness that Japan鈥檚 medal tally might be affected as a result.
鈥淪he is a potential gold medalist, an athlete in whom we have great expectations. I鈥檓 really disappointed,鈥 said the 69-year-old, according to local media.
鈥淲hen one person leads, she can boost the whole team. I am slightly worried that this type of excitement could wane.鈥
Following a backlash from the public and opposition politicians, Sakurada sought to clarify his stance and admitted his comments 鈥渓acked consideration.鈥
This is not the first time Sakurada has made unwanted headlines.
He attracted widespread ridicule when he admitted that he 鈥渄oes not use computers鈥 in his professional life. He doubles as deputy chief of Japan鈥檚 cyber security strategy.
Sakurada also sparked anger for ill-advised comments in 2016 when he described the 鈥渃omfort women鈥 forced to work in military brothels servicing Japanese wartime troops as 鈥減rofessional prostitutes.鈥
Ikee shot to fame at last year鈥檚 Asian Games, where she captured a record six gold medals to fire a warning for the 2020 Olympics in her home city.
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