On the eve of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the director of the opening ceremony expelled the Holocaust joke

• The director of the opening ceremony was fired on the eve of the Olympics for a massacre joke
• The Tokyo Olympics organizers fired Kentaro Kobayashi on Thursday because he made a joke about the massacre in a comedy show in the 1990s, which recently reappeared in the domestic media.
• In a statement, Kobayashi apologized for past comments.

Tokyo: On the eve of the Tokyo Olympics, the organizers fired the director of the opening ceremony because he made a joke about the massacre, and media reports said that Shinzo Abe, a staunch supporter of the Tokyo Olympics, will skip the show.

This news is the latest in a series of embarrassing incidents by Tokyo organizers. These embarrassing incidents have caused anger. Just a few days ago, a famous musician was caught after an old report about his bullying and abusive behavior surfaced. Forced to resign as a ceremonial composer.

Earlier this year, the chairman of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee resigned after making sexist remarks, and the creative director of the Tokyo Olympics resigned after making derogatory remarks about a popular Japanese female artist.

The Tokyo Olympics organizers fired Kentaro Kobayashi on Thursday because he made a joke about the massacre in a comedy show in the 1990s, which recently reappeared in the domestic media.

The head of the organizing committee Seiko Hashimoto said gloomily: “As the opening ceremony is approaching, I apologize for causing troubles and worries to many related personnel, Tokyo residents and Japanese.”

Earlier, the International Jewish Rights Organization Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement saying that Kobayashi’s connection with the Olympics would “insult” the “memory” of the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust.

In a statement, Kobayashi apologized for his past comments.

“PR Disaster”

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played the role of a plumber in the video game “Super Mario” at the Rio Olympics, representing Japan, and played a huge role in attracting the Olympics to Tokyo.

At the time of the bid, Abe and his supporters hoped that the Olympics could be parallel to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, heralding the country’s economic recovery after decades of stagnation, and marking its recovery from the devastating disaster of 2011.

However, Bob Pickard, Senior Public Relations Director at Signal Leadership Communication, said that the spectacle of last-minute personnel changes, the resurfacing of past abusive comments, and the imminent pandemic may turn it into a “public relations disaster.” .

“Tokyo 2020 should be a global platform for the new Japan to face the international future with confidence. On the contrary, what we see here is the legacy of the old Japan’s isolated attitude that is deeply trapped in the prejudices and stereotypes of the past,” he said.

NHK said that after the Japanese government declared Tokyo a state of emergency and virus restrictions, Abe decided not to attend the ceremony. Thursday is a public holiday in Japan, and Abe’s office could not be contacted immediately.

Friday’s opening ceremony will be a low-key event, with only 950 people-including about 15 global leaders-attending. Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the capital, spectators have been barred from participating in most Olympic events.

First lady Jill Biden arrived in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, which raised expectations that she might also use her attendance to discuss vaccine issues with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Biden will have dinner with Suga and his wife later in the day. He has been traveling all over the United States, urging more people to get vaccinated.

Only one-third of Japanese people received at least one dose of the vaccine, which intensified public concern that the Olympics might become a super-spreading event.

In a recent public opinion survey, 68% of respondents expressed doubts about the ability of Olympic organizers to control coronavirus infections, and 55% of respondents said they oppose continuing to host the Olympics.

87 Olympic-related personnel, including athletes, tested positive for COVID-19, forcing athletes to retire and forcing teammates to quarantine.

A coach said in a Twitter exchange earlier this week that in light of the new cases reported in the Olympic Village, the US gymnastics team moved into a hotel.

The organizers of the Olympic Games referred Reuters’ questions on this topic to the US team.

The Olympic games have begun, and the Japanese women’s softball team gave the hosts a victory on Wednesday.

In between matches in the Fukushima countryside destroyed by the 2011 nuclear disaster, softball players are looking for the brown bears they found this week.

“I’m a little disappointed, I didn’t see it,” American pitcher Monica Abbott said.