July 22, (THEWILL) – The Olympics have had a rough patch in high profile exits and there seems to be no end as there has been a fresh sacking within the ranks of the organising hierarchy of the Summer Olympics. Kentaro Kobayashi, the Creative Director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, has been dismissed.
The firing of Kobayashi, which is coming just a day to the ceremonious opening, was announced on Thursday by Olympics organisers, who based it on comments the Creative Director made about the Holocaust years ago which were considered to be in bad taste.
Toshiro Muto, the Chief Executive of the Organising Committee said after the decision to fire Kobayashi was made public: “The entire opening programme will be closely scrutinised again.”
The jokes Kobayashi, who used to be a comedian, made about the Holocaust, that infamous mass murder of Jews under the German Nazi regime from 1941 to 1945, only came to light in a recently surfaced video that was found online.
In February this year, THEWILL reported the forced resignation of Yoshiro Mori, President of Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee, over sexist comments made earlier this month for which he had earlier believed an apology sufficed.
The 83-year-old, in response to a call for the Japanese Olympic Committee to increase the number of women on its board, was quoted to have said that women would talk too much in board meetings and that they “have a strong sense of rivalry”.
Now, Kobayashi’s dismissal has become the latest blow to organisers of the Olympics, which are being held without spectators because of the Coronavirus pandemic and which have seen a number of athletes test positive within the Olympics Village and even a Weightlifter attempting to abscond.
The organisers have also had to see the composer for the opening ceremony, Keigo Oyamada, resign recently as well. His resignation became necessary after reports surfaced online that during his school days years back, he had bullied disabled children.
Now 52-years-old, Oyamada announced on Monday that he was quitting the creative team in charge of the ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at the National Stadium in the Japanese capital. He also apologised for his actions while in school.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
