THE director of the Tokyo Olympics’ opening ceremony was fired Thursday over a Holocaust joke he made during a comedy show in 1998.
Kentaro Kobayashi was ousted just a day before the pandemic-delayed Games were set to officially kickoff Friday with an elaborate ceremony he helped create, the latest in a long list of setbacks to hit the event.
Kobayashi was fired “after a joke he had made in the past about a painful historical event was brought to light,” the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said in a statement.
Kobayashi used the phrase “Let’s play Holocaust” in the act, organizing committee president Seiko Hashimoto said in a statement.
“We found out that Mr. Kobayashi, in his own performance, had used a phrase ridiculing a historical tragedy,” Hashimoto said.
“We deeply apologize for causing such a development the day before the opening ceremony and for causing troubles and concerns to many
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