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TOKYO – They say bad luck comes in threes and for the Tokyo Olympics, the bad luck trifecta came on Monday.
First, Toyota Motor Corp., Japan’s largest automaker, announced that it was removing its domestic TV commercials for the duration of the games. Next, a teenage deputy member of the United States women’s gymnastics team tested positive for Covid. And finally, a Japanese musician who composed part of the score for Friday’s opening ceremony resigned after being criticized for his past as a bully.
And all of this came as a new poll released by Asahi Shimbun, one of the largest national dailies, reported that despite the best efforts of local organizers and the International Olympic Committee, a large portion of the Japanese public continues. to oppose the games.
“There is mixed public sentiment towards the Games,” said Masa Takaya, spokesperson for the Tokyo Olympics, according to the Associated Press.
Jeremy Fuchs, author of a book on the history of the Olympics, said it’s important to remember that “there has never been an entirely happy Olympics,” and the games are sometimes overshadowed by controversial human rights debates, political gestures or spending.
“But I think this controversy is truly unprecedented, and I think you would be hard pressed to find an example in history where the citizens of a host country are so unhappy,” he said.
Toyota rejects ads
Toyota is not only Japan’s biggest automaker, but it’s also one of the biggest benefactors of the Tokyo Games and the supplier of thousands of vehicles that athletes and organizers use to get around. But with much of the public opposed to the games over fears that arriving athletes and others could ignite the pandemic, Toyota has decided to remove the ads it has produced for its domestic audience.
“It becomes an Olympics where a lot of things are not understood,” said Jun Nagata, spokesperson for the automaker, adding that neither the president of Toyota nor other senior executives would attend the opening ceremony. .
Asked about Toyota’s decision, Takaya said, “I must point out that these partners and companies have been very supportive of Tokyo 2020. They are passionate about making these Games happen.
Gymnast, tennis star grounded by Covid
Gymnastics is a big name Olympic event and members of the US women’s team are tossed for. So the word that a gymnast had tested positive quickly made headlines.
“We can confirm that a replacement for the women’s artistic gymnastics team has tested positive for Covid-19,” the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in a brief statement. “In accordance with local rules and protocols, the athlete was transferred to a hotel for quarantine.”
Substitute Kara Eaker tested positive at training camp, her coach told The Associated Press.
More worryingly, another teammate who had been in “close contact” with Eaker had been placed “on hold”, authorities said.
In a separate development, teenage tennis player Cori “Coco” Gauff announced on Sunday that she had tested positive for Covid and would not be competing in the Tokyo Olympics, where she was scheduled to lead the U.S. team.
“I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and will not be able to play at the Tokyo Olympics,” she wrote on social media. “It has always been a dream for me to represent the United States at the Olympics, and I hope there will be a lot more chance for me to achieve that in the future.”
The composer leaves
Keigo Oyamada, better known to his legions of fans as Cornelius, is a maverick musician who has been nicknamed the “Japanese Beck” and who has been compared to Brian Wilson, the genius behind the Beach Boys.
In Japan, Oyamada was best known as one of the creators of the kitschy Shibuya-kei sound.
With this kind of curriculum vitae, the Japanese organizers were eager to solicit him to contribute to the score for the opening ceremony.
But in the 1990s, Oyamada made some jarring notes when he bragged in several magazine interviews about how he tormented his classmates in elementary and high school. In particular, he described how he made a disabled classmate eat his own feces and masturbate in front of the class.
When word of the interviews got out, he publicly apologized. Tokyo Olympics organizers said they had no idea the musician acted like a monster, but initially said they hoped he would continue to participate in the festivities.
Monday, Oyamada announced on Twitter that he had “submitted my resignation to the organizing committee”.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude for all comments and suggestions, and I will reflect on them in my future actions and thoughts,” he wrote. “I sincerely apologize for this incident.”
Games organizers also issued a statement that Oyamada’s intimidation was “absolutely unacceptable”.
“In light of his sincere apologies, we expressed our willingness to allow Mr. Oyamada to continue his preparatory work in the short time remaining before the opening ceremony,” the statement said. “However, we came to believe that this decision was wrong and we decided to accept his resignation.”
NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, owns the rights to broadcast the Games in the United States.
Corky Siemaszko and Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Daniel Arkin from Los Angeles.
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