Controversial Tokyo Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremony Director Dismissed for "Let's Exterminate Jews" Remark

Controversy Over Past Skit Line "Let's Play Jewish Massacre Game"
Fourth Resignation of Organizing Committee Chair, Opening Ceremony Director, and Music Composer
Organizing Committee Official: "The Preparation Process for the Event Was Fundamentally Flawed"

Tokyo Olympic opening ceremony director Kentaro Kobayashi (left photo) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Kentaro Kobayashi, the director in charge of the opening ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, who became controversial for a past video that trivialized the Holocaust during World War II, has been dismissed, Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 22nd.

According to the report, Kobayashi appeared in a past skit where he said the line "Let's play the Jewish mass slaughter game," and the video recently spread on social media (SNS), causing a growing controversy.

Kobayashi held the position of 'Show Director' in the production and directing team for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Mainichi Shimbun criticized, saying "Another adverse issue has erupted" ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, and "Kobayashi's remarks directly violate the Olympic spirit."

According to Kyodo News, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish international human rights organization, issued a statement the day before condemning Kobayashi's line in the comedy dealing with the Jewish Holocaust.

In the statement, the organization pointed out, "No matter how creative a person is, they have no right to mock the victims of genocide by the Nazis," and "This person's involvement in the Tokyo Olympics is an insult to the memory of the six million Jews who were massacred."

An official from the organizing committee said, "We could not understand how a person like (Kobayashi) was allowed to be in charge of directing the opening ceremony," and strongly criticized, "This shows that the Olympic preparation process has been fundamentally flawed so far."

Earlier, in February, Yoshir? Mori, the chairman of the organizing committee, resigned over sexist remarks.

Then, in March, Hiroshi Sasaki, the creative director overseeing the opening and closing ceremonies, voluntarily resigned shortly after it was revealed that he proposed directing in a way that disparaged the appearance of female entertainers scheduled to appear in the opening ceremony.

Additionally, on the 19th, Keigo Oyamada, the composer for the opening ceremony music, also resigned after it was revealed that he had committed school violence during his school days, including forcing students to eat excrement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.