Kentaro Kobayashi, the opening ceremony director of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been sacked by the Games organisers after historical footage emerged of Kentaro Kobayashi making jokes about the Holocaust.
A clip was widely shared on Japanese social media on Wednesday, July 21, showing the comedian Kobayashi in a 1998 TV skit which included the line “Let’s play Holocaust”, and there were strong calls for his dismissal.
The Jewish human rights organisation Simon Wiesenthal Center released a statement condemning the jokes, saying: “Any person, no matter how creative, does not have the right to mock the victims of the Nazi genocide … any association of this person to the Tokyo Olympics would insult the memory of six million Jews.”
The sacking of Kobayashi was confirmed by the Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto who said: “We’re currently investigating how to conduct tomorrow’s opening ceremony.”
Meanwhile, the organizers of the Tokyo Olympics have reported 12 coronavirus (COVID-19) cases linked to the event.
The organising committee said in their Thursday, July 22 update that two athletes staying in the Olympic Village were among those who tested positive.
