Olympic Opening Ceremony director Kentaro Kobayashi has been fired from his role at the games, just one day ahead of the ceremony. Tokyo Olympic organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto explained the departure was because of a comedy performance by the former director used the Holocaust as a punchline.
“Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,” Hashimoto said in a statement. “We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many involved parties as well as the people in Tokyo and the rest of the country.”
Kobayashi, an actor and former member of the popular Japanese comedy duo Rahmens, appeared in a sketch in 1998 that featured him saying the line “Let’s play Holocaust.”
Kobayashi’s exit is not the first on the Olympic Opening Ceremony team. Keigo Oyamada, who performs under the name Cornelius, was the composer of the Opening Ceremony up until last week, when interviews of him admitting to bullying children with disabilities surfaced. Oyamada admitted to horrific acts against a disabled classmate that included making the child eat his own feces. Ironically, he was also set to compose music for the Paralympics, a role which he has also stepped away from. His music will no longer be featured during any of the Olympic or Paralympic ceremonies.
Organizing Committee President Yoshiro Mori also resigned after stating that women who talk too much in meetings are “annoying.” And then there’s Hiroshi Sasaki, creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies, who also walked away from the Games after referring to a Japanese actress as an “Olympig.”
The Olympic Games, which have been delayed since last year as a result of the pandemic, have been a source of controversy for not requiring participating athletes to be vaccinated, and now many have become ill with Covid-19. These latest controversies surrounding the committee are only serving to further tarnish this year’s games, with Hashimoto admitting that none of it is a good look.
“We have been preparing for the last year to send a positive message,” he said. “Toward the very end now there are so many incidents that give a negative image toward Tokyo 2020.”
