Hiroshi Sasaki made derogatory remarks about a plus-size Japanese female entertainer, proposing that she appear as “Olympig”.
CAPE TOWN, March 19 (ANA) – Tokyo Olympics organisers are under the spotlight once again for insensitive remarks towards women after creative director Hiroshi Sasaki made derogatory remarks about a Japanese female entertainer.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Sasaki resigned on Thursday after proposing to the planning group that a popular plus-size female entertainer, Naomi Watanabe, appear as a pig at the opening ceremony in the role of “Olympig”.
Sasaki, who is responsible for the Games’ opening and closing ceremonies, apologised after his comments in the group chat appeared in a local tabloid.
“There was a very inappropriate expression in my ideas and remarks,” Sasaki said in a press release issued on Thursday.
“I sincerely apologise to her and people who have felt discomfort with such contents,” it said.
His resignation comes just over a month after former Tokyo Olympics president Yoshiro Mori stepped down for his sexist remarks that “women talk too much”.
Mori was later replaced by then Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, who is a former Olympian. Hashimoto has competed in seven Olympic Games, including four Winter Games and three Summer Games.
In a press conference on Thursday, Hashimoto said Sasaki’s remarks were inappropriate and regrettable.
“When I became Tokyo 2020 president I made gender equality one of our key initiatives for restoring the trust of the people,” said Hashimoto.
“To date I have been striving to carry out this initiative with a sense of urgency. This kind of thing should never have happened,” she said.
Meanwhile, Japan has launched a five-pillar plan to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus once the state of emergency is lifted for Tokyo and three of its neighbouring prefectures.
The state of emergency has been extended twice since being implemented on January 7. According to The Japan News, the five-pillar plan is made up of strict measures for eating out, coronavirus variant countermeasures, an expansion of PCR testing, promotion of vaccinations and enhancing medical capacity.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
