According to a report from AP News, Tokyo 2020 opening ceremonies director Kentaro Kobayashi has been fired from his role due to a newly-resurfaced joke about the Holocaust that he made during a comedy show in 1998. Kobayashi reportedly incorporated the words “let’s play Holocaust” into his act which has been deemed unacceptable by Tokyo 2020 leaders.
Kobayashi spoke on the matter, according to CNN News, and offered the following remarks:
“Indeed, as pointed out, in the video software that was released in 1998 to introduce young comedians, a skit script I wrote contained an extremely inappropriate expression.”
“I understand that my foolish choice of words at the time was a mistake, and I regret it.”
The President of the Olympic committee Seiko Hashimoto discussed the matter, saying “we found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, has used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy. 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.”
The opening ceremonies are set to take place on Friday, July 23 beginning at 8 pm local time in Japan.
Kobayashi’s dismissal is the latest in a number of similar occurrences over the past few months affecting high-ups with the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee. The aforementioned Olympic committee President Seiko Hashimoto actually stepped into her role in February 2021 after former Olympic chief Yoshiro Mori resigned.
Mori was pressured to resign after making a number of sexist remarks including “when you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying” and “women are competitive. When one person raises a hand, others think they need to speak up as well. That’s why everyone speaks.”
More recently, Olympic ceremony composer Keigo Oyamada resigned from his post earlier this month after admitting that he used to bully classmates with disabilities. His past bullying came to light due to 2 resurfaced interviews that he gave in 1994 and 1995 where he admitted that he would bully his classmates ‘without any remorse.’
Japan was let off after wwii for global atrocities: China massacres, Philippines, Korean comfort women, not prosecuting many and untouching the emporer. And now there is a revisionist history here about it all. Unlike Germany, nothing is taught in Japan about the truth and aggressions have been revised in books to “incidents”, avoiding any ownership.
But when a comedian makes a joke 20 years ago about another country, WHOA MAN…… we gotta act concerned!! Sheesh. This place doesn’t care about anything except optics.
Like covid safety posturing to the outside world with little being done inside Japan, welcome to the land of the rising hypocrisy
Acting like they werent with the NAZIS. Japanese ppl wilding
They also have a much more recent history of racism and continues to be a much more prejudiced country than the US.
An eye for an eye
it makes sense why Kobayashi would be fried. I mean, after all, he’s the godfather of competitive eating…
i don’t agree that most people have said something like this publicly, there’s plenty of people that can keep their mouth shut but in any case firing someone for saying this 23 YEARS AGO just seems ridiculous
If we are going to hold people’s feet to the fire for what they were doing decades ago, then why don’t we look at what Joe Biden was doing in the 1990’s:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/22/us/politics/joe-bidens-role-in-90s-crime-law-could-haunt-any-presidential-bid.html
Half of the people spearheading the cancel culture wave (at least in America) weren’t even born when this stuff was being passed, but this did more to harm minorities than the combination of things they claim Trump did. But don’t show this to them, because it doesn’t fit their agenda.
Clown world
Lmao
What would Mel Brooks say? You know the guy who created some memorable Holocaust humor.
Remember that amazingly bad (but amusing) song “Springtime for Hitler” from “The Producers”? Brooks won an Oscar for it in 1969 (best original screenplay).
What has happened to us?
Not to us, to the so called ‘liberal’ left.
Murica has two right wing, war parties. There is no left. Together they are good cop, bad copping you all out of universal healthcare and real wage increases with identity politics distractions. and it worked. And keeps working… Together they’ve widdled down taxes for corporations for decades. That’s why you don’t have a healthcare system. But here’s an f35 raptor for your next overpriced medical emergency
We have a sizable majority of Gen-Z and Millennials who unironically call themselves communists, and people in office that champion socialism. Yea, I’m pretty sure there is a “left” in America.
The communist part is the weirdest bit – I guess Yuri was right
As David Burge, the “Iowahawk,” put it:
“Each generation laughs at what previous generations censored. Today’s generation censors what previous generations laughed at.”
And there was the hilarious SNL skit with Heather Locklear and Mike Meyers selling that pasta maker on that ‘infomercial’. The things she kept saying!!! You can’t make jokes like that anymore. SNL won’t even post the video online.
This is about Japan. I wonder what Japan has done historically? Maybe they have had cancel culture for years? They are hyper anal so wouldn’t surprise