Olympic organizers sack opening ceremony director over Holocaust comments

On the eve of the Tokyo Games, organizers fired the director of the opening ceremony for comments he made about the Holocaust, while media reported that former prime minister Shinzo Abe, an advocate memorable Tokyo Games, would skip the flagship event.

The news is the latest in a series of embarrassments for Tokyo organizers that sparked outrage at home and abroad, and comes just days after a well-known musician was forced to resign from his job. songwriter post for the ceremony after old reports of his bullying and abusive behavior surfaced.

Abe, who disguised himself as the titular plumber of the Super Mario video game at the Rio Games to represent Japan, played a disproportionate role in attracting the Olympics to Tokyo.

In a speech to a banquet hall packed with members of the International Olympic Committee in 2013, the lingering nuclear disaster in Fukushima was “under control” and portrayed his nation as a “passionate, proud and staunch supporter” of the Olympics.

At the time, Abe and his supporters hoped that the Olympics would run alongside the 1964 Tokyo Games heralding the country’s rebirth after decades of economic stagnation and also mark its recovery from a devastating nuclear and natural disaster in 2011.

Instead, the Games, delayed for a year due to the global pandemic, suffered a series of setbacks, including the departure of Yoshiro Mori, the former head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, who has resigned. after making sexist comments. This was quickly followed by the resignation of Tokyo Olympics Creative Director Hiroshi Sasaki after making derogatory comments about a popular Japanese artist.

The Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said Kentaro Kobayashi, who is listed as show director for the Games opening event, was fired after a joke he made about the Holocaust in the part of his comedy number in 1998 resurfaced in the national media.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization, previously issued a statement condemning Kobayashi’s past behavior.

“Any association of this person with the Tokyo Olympics would insult the memory of six million Jews and cruel mockery of the Paralympic Games,” said Abraham Cooper, rabbi and associate dean and director of global outreach at the center.

Friday’s opening ceremony, which normally serves as a major showcase for the host nation, is expected to be a moderate affair, with Japanese media reporting that fewer than 950 people – including only about 15 world leaders – are expected to attend.

First Lady Jill Biden is expected to land in Tokyo on Thursday afternoon for the Games’ opening ceremony, raising hopes that she could also use her presence to discuss vaccines with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Biden has traveled across the United States to urge more people in the country to get vaccinated.

Only a third of Japanese people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, fueling public concerns that the Olympics could become a big-ticket event. Already dozens of participants have tested positive for Covid-19, forcing withdrawals of athletes and their teammates into isolation.

NHK said Abe decided not to attend the ceremony after the Japanese government declared a state of emergency and virus restrictions in Tokyo, in a bid to minimize health risks for residents and visitors. Abe’s office could not be reached immediately on Thursday, a public holiday in Japan.

Covid-19 infections have jumped in the capital and are expected to rise further, straining healthcare providers.

In a recent poll by the Asahi newspaper, 68% of those polled expressed doubts about the ability of Olympic organizers to control coronavirus infections, with 55% saying they were against continuing the Games.

Olympic competition has already started, with the Japanese women’s softball team giving the hosts a winning start on Wednesday, while the top-ranked US women’s football team were bowled over by Sweden.

Day two of softball kicked off early Thursday under cloudy skies in Fukushima with the United States beating Canada by one point to make it 2-0 in the standings. Japan will face Mexico later.

Disclosure: CNBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the US licensee to broadcast all Summer and Winter Games until 2032.