TOKYO – In yet another setback for the postponed Tokyo Olympics – and another one involving comments about women – games creative director Hiroshi Sasaki resigned on Thursday after making humiliating comments about a well-known female celebrity in Japan.
The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to start in a little over four months, chased by the coronavirus pandemic, record costs and numerous scandals. And all of that converges when the Olympic torch relay begins next week in northeastern Japan, a risky adventure with 10,000 runners set to cross Japan for four months.
Sasaki’s resignation is the last blow.
Last year, he suggested that team members plan on “online brainstorming exchanges” that well-known artist Naomi Watanabe could present at the ceremony as an “Olympig”.
Watanabe is an icon of women’s fashion and very famous in Japan. Sasaki’s reference to “Olympig” was an obvious game with the word “Olympic”.
The story was first reported by the weekly Bunshun magazine, and the corresponding controversy sparked almost instantly.
It comes just a month after organizing committee chairman Yoshiro Mori was forced to resign after making sexist comments that women talk too much at meetings.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called Sasaki’s comments “extremely embarrassing”,
“When we talk about what we deliver from Tokyo or Japan, we shouldn’t send a negative message,” said Koike on Thursday.
Sasaki released a statement saying he was stepping down. He said he also called Seiko Hashimoto, the chairman of the organizing committee, and presented his resignation.
“For Ms. Naomi Watanabe, my idea and comments are a great insult. And it’s unforgivable, “said Sasaki.” I offer my deepest regrets and apologize from the bottom of my heart to her and to those who may have been offended by this. “
“It is truly unfortunate and I apologize from the bottom of my heart,”
Hashimoto said at a news conference on Thursday that she accepted his resignation. She said a replacement would come quickly and also indicated that she tried to persuade him to stay.
“I felt that way, but he explained, and his intention was very strong,” said Hashimoto. “That was how I felt. For these reasons, I decided to accept his resignation. “
Hashimoto also said he spoke with IOC member John Coates, who oversees preparations for Tokyo.
“The IOC also received the article (from the magazine) and was very concerned,” said Hashimoto.
Hashimoto, who participated in seven Olympics and won the bronze medal in 1992, took office a month ago, when Mori made similar sexist comments and was forced to leave. Hashimoto acted quickly and appointed 12 women to the organizing committee’s executive board, increasing the number of women to 42 percent. It had been 20 percent.
“IOC and Japanese politics are male-dominated territories,” said Dr. Barbara Holthus, deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo, to the Associated Press. “Japanese politicians have a long history of promoting gender inequalities – in addition to many other inequalities.”
Sasaki was responsible for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics, which are scheduled to start on July 23. He also planned the Tokyo handover ceremony at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and organized a year-long event to end in July at the new Tokyo National Stadium.
Previously, he worked for the giant Japanese advertising company Dentsu Inc., which has been a major supporter of these Olympics. It is the official marketing partner and helped raise a record $ 3.5 billion in local sponsorship, almost three times more than any previous Olympics.
But the games were affected by the pandemic and look like snakebites, causing new problems and more expenses almost weekly. Support fell with several polls suggesting that about 80% of Japanese people want the Olympics to be canceled or postponed again. They cite the costs and risks of holding the mega-event during a pandemic.
Japan controlled the virus better than most countries and attributed about 8,700 deaths to the virus. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Thursday that the government would suspend the coronavirus state of emergency in the Tokyo area on Sunday, but the capital’s governor warned citizens not to let their guard down.
Organizers and the IOC insist that the Olympics will move forward during the pandemic, with 11,000 Olympic athletes and 4,400 Paralympics entering Japan. Official costs for Tokyo are $ 15.4 billion, but several government audits show the real cost it can be double.
A study by the University of Oxford says that Tokyo is the most expensive Olympics ever recorded.