Holocaust comments result in firing
TOKYO: Tokyo Olympics organisers fired the opening ceremony director on the eve of the event after reports emerged of a past joke he had made about the Holocaust, while media said former prime minister Shinzo Abe, a strong advocate of the Games, would also not attend.
The latest in a series of embarrassments for the Tokyo organisers comes just days after a wellknown musician was forced to step down as composer for the ceremony after old reports of his bullying and abusive behaviour surfaced.
Earlier this year, the head of the Tokyo 2020 organising 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 organisers fired
Kentaro Kobayashi yesterday over a joke he made about the Holocaust as part of a comedy act in the 1990s that recently resurfaced 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,’’ a sombre Seiko Hashimoto, who heads the organising committee, said.
Earlier, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an international Jewish human rights organisation, released a statement saying Kobayashi’s association with the in
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 apologised for his past comments in a statement.
The opening ceremony tonight is set to be a subdued affair, with just 950 people — including only around 15 global leaders — set to attend. Spectators have been barred from most Olympic events as Covid19 cases surge in the capital.
Tokyo yesterday recorded 1979 new Covid cases in the capital, the highest since January 15.
First Lady Jill Biden arrived in Tokyo yesterday for the Games’ opening ceremony, raising expectations she might also use her attendance to discuss vaccines with Suga.
Biden, who was is set to dine with Suga and his wife later in the day, has been travelling across the United States urging more people to get inoculated.
Only athird of Japanese have had at least one dose of the vaccine, fuelling public concerns that the Olympics could become a superspreader event.
‘‘This kind of stuff keeps happening. Tokyo residents are really sick of it,’’ 64yearold retiree Shio Watanabe said yesterday after news of further personnel changes.
In a recent poll, 68% of respondents expressed doubt about the ability of Olympic organisers to control Covid infections, 5% saying they opposed the Games going ahead.
Already 87 Olympicrelated personnel, including athletes, have tested positive for Covid19, prompting the US gymnastics team to relocate to a hotel.
In a visit with the Japanese emperor yesterday, Olympic Committee head Thomas Bach tried to assuage concerns over the virus, reiterating organisers were doing their utmost not to bring infections to Japan.
Meanwhile, Olympics competition has already begun, the Japanese women’s softball team getting the host off to a winning start on Wednesday.
Between matches in rural Fukushima, an area devastated by the 2011 disaster, softball players were on the lookout for a brown bear which had been spotted this week.
‘‘I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to see it,’’ US pitcher Monica Abbott, who has played in Japan’s national league since 2009, told a news conference. — Reuters