Takeshi hopes to be included in 2020 Olympic opening ceremony

What would he do? Run around hitting people over the head?

because he is such an athlete?

because he is such an athlete?

I doubt that many of the organizers of any Olympics events, have been exceptional athletes. If they had been, the opening ceremonies would have been rubbish.

For God's sake keep that nut out of it!

Takeshi is psychotic.

For a reputable English language school, Takeshi speaks pretty poor if not BAD English to even make a CM for them.

Why would they want an unfunny, annoying old fool?

He'll should like an idiot: "COMANECHI"!!!! while making his famous highhip panties gesture with both hands.

But will his "humor" will translate? The whole world will be watching.

Takeshi and all his Yak friends; Cos Play guys and gals; Otaku; Akiba culture; fuzoku; nationalist trucks with blaring musiK; dancing Mamasans; "WORLD ORDER" group for sure!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ua64HbsBUo Oh, and don't forget the cranky foreigners who have been here too long? -myself maybe?

All kidding aside, I can't imagine what kind of "entertainment" they will have. Bon odori? taiko? omikoshi? AKB48? ho, hum....

Takeshi's castle olympics... finally :p

without fail, the opening ceremony will include lots of pubescent girls dressed in short skirts 'dancing' to some pop music... the locals will consider this to be an expression of 'Cool Japan' culture while the rest of the world will simply be embarrassed for them....

I've changed my mind.

Having an utter fool to represent Japan right now is perfect.

Beat Takeshi should be the mascot for the Tokyo Olympics.

Only thing to do is dress him up like one of the "maiko" they probably use and try to keep him in the background.

Takeshi hopes to be included in 2020 Olympic opening ceremony

The man is a brilliant director, actor, writer and of course comedian. Has anyone here seen his version of Zatoichi or Sonatine? Both are and were brilliantly done.

Now, it's the opening ceremony many people of different walks of life usually participate in the opening ceremony. So why not have one that is known and respected world wide?

sillygirl. Nice comment. Yes, I think that is about all he could do. Think the guy is a complete embarassment to be honest,but look at London. Mr. Bean was in the opening ceremony. Same sh!t, different pile. Thankfully Canada did not have Jim Carey or Mike Meyers in the Vancouver opening ceremony.

Takeshi's Castle Redux!!!!!!!!!!

;)

He did do the Comaneci joke so he does have Olympic experience on his resume.

JoeBigs: "The man is a brilliant director, actor, writer and of course comedian. Has anyone here seen his version of Zatoichi or Sonatine? Both are and were brilliantly done."

I agree with you on the brilliant director and actor part, but not the comedian part. Sadly, though, the guy is also a renowned homophobe, misogynist, and mocks foreign people on talk shows. I don't think he's appropriate as a representative of the Olympics.

For a reputable English language school, Takeshi speaks pretty poor if not BAD English to even make a CM for them.

I completely agree, his level of English is very poor, but then again he's not selling to a bunch of advanced speakers. ECC is just using his name and pull to get people to their schools. There is no way his English abilities could be used in any shape or form during the Olympics as everything would need to be scripted.

Please no AKB or underage girl groups.

gogogo. What else is there besides smartphone culture? I think they should have all the AKB-type groups marching with smartphones and throwing plastic wrappers on the ground. That is basically all I see in Japan anymore.

Perhaps he can do a Danny Boyle. Battle Royal, anyone?

Oh no!!! please..it'll bring down the class of the event. He's such a low class!!!

Oh brother! This guy has a really big head!

"Why not me?" he asks. Perhaps a better question would be "Why in the world you?"

smithinjapanJan. 07, 2014 - 11:50AM JST I agree with you on the brilliant director and actor part, but not the comedian part. Sadly, though, the guy is also a renowned homophobe, misogynist, and mocks foreign people on talk shows. I don't think he's appropriate as a representative of the Olympics.

Come on smith, Mr. Bean did the London Olympics why can't Takeshi do the Tokyo Olympics?

Hell, if we look back to 08' fake fireworks, lip-synching and fake ethnic children. What is wrong with Takeshi?

For those fans of Bean, I say Rowan Atkinson was much better as Blackadder than Bean. For those that have never seen Blackadder watch it and see genius at work. No matter if it was BA series 1 or 4 they were all fantastic. I would of rather had Prince Edmund making jokes than Bean, but that is just me.

Takeshi will be a great example of Japanese culture and wit. I for one love the slap-stick humor that has survived here.

The Olympics is about showing off your nation and what it holds.

Japan has a rich history and for the last 67 has been a beacon of freedom in Asia. I don't like the Olympics nor what it holds, but in this case Japan's Olympics is well deserved.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about what type of performances will be featured during the ceremonies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics…I thought, why not me!?”

Because hitting people on the head with plastic mallets is considered comic genius in only one country.

3 Good| Bad ProbieJan. 07, 2014 - 09:25AM JST

Why would they want an unfunny, annoying old fool?

because the whole event is going to be built and managed by annoying unfunny old fools,

AKB would be better. Or the firemen in JT's picture of the day.....

BTW comedy mallets are popular in a number of places. Anyone remember Timmy Mallett on BBC?

For the people mentioning AKB kind of chicks... I know why. Would it happen to be called "sexual frustration"? If your a guy ofcourse your attracted to this. So what Japan has the most sexist girls in the world here. I love them! Bring on the girls at the olympics! They are the reason most guys come to Japan! To see the hot Japanese chicks!

Takeshi hopes to be included in 2020 Olympic opening ceremony

I hope not! And I'm not even a fan of the Olympics, really.

I cannot imagine Takeshi Kitano as a comedian I saw him in Battle Royale and Johnny Mnemonic both character are dense...

I would think that Ken Watanabe would be more representative, he's known worldwide...

It just hit me. The Tokyo Olympics will be a talento-orgy with regards to local TV. I can already see the little talento-box on the upper right side of the screen during the 100m dash.

JoeBigs: Not to forget Hana-bi, Kikujiro and Dolls. The man is brilliant on film.

JoeBigs: "Come on smith, Mr. Bean did the London Olympics why can't Takeshi do the Tokyo Olympics?"

Again, I love Takeshi's movies, but what seriously can he bring to the stage to represent Japan aside from racist rants that, while some people here who know him might laugh at, are not really good at an event that is supposed to welcome the world? What's more, and this is not bias, Bean's silly antics translate cross-culturally -- he is a popular comedian even in Japan, but can you say Takeshi is popular as a comedian in the UK or elsewhere? He's definitely popular for his movies, but not his comedy, so I simply don't see what he can bring besides perhaps a short speech to welcome the Games. Any bit he tries to do threatens to undermine the games, in my opinion.

I could be totally wrong, and maybe the man, at 72 or 73, will have calmed down some and actually be open to 'others'. But I really don't see asking to be a part of it as a sign that it's for the right reasons.

wipeout: "Japan has a hell of a lot of culture - high and low - to draw on, and might do something interesting with it. Traditional festivals here can be an amazing spectacle, for example, and the organizers would be intelligent enough (don't you think) to understand they're doing a ceremony for a global audience."

I cannot disagree with you save for the last point -- that they understand they would be doing a ceremony for a global audience. I have absolutely no doubt that they will do some extremely impressive and memorable things, but I do cringe at the thought that it's also very possible, as nostromo said, they will embarrass themselves; like if they allowed Hard Gay or some other 'tarento' to come out and sexually assault people on stage because it's considered 'funny' to some people here, but would taint opening/closing ceremonies to come. Worse than that, though, would be that a lot of people would take offense to the reaction of 'not understanding' the culture. I pray that they utilize traditional customs and culture, and not use 'warai' or something like that that very few people would enjoy on the international stage.

I really don't see what Takeshi could offer unless he wants to make some mock gangster segment, and that would not be in the sport of the Games. His movies with drama and violence are internationally well-known, his humor is well-known as being, as I said, homophobic, and even racist at times. What could he possibly do for the Games that would represent Japanese culture in a good light? We will indeed have to wait and see, and while I look forward to it, like I said I cringe a little at the thought of this man taking part in the opening ceremonies beyond some kind of commentator role (even then cringe).

Takeshis castle

Un-berievable!

Takeshi will be a great example of Japanese culture and wit

Lmao. His comedy would go down like a lead balloon. In fact any Japanese comedy would be embarrassing. Face it most Japanese comedy (except the mean prank stuff) does not transcend international boundaries unless your a Japanphile like some of the posters on here.

Since he's more internationally known for his movies, he definitely would deserve a spot in the opening ceremony however. I imagine he'll play it straight, in Zatoichi costume or something.

Beat Takeshi could put on a lovable character suit and play with all the children. He certainly needs an image change as I do not believe making commercials for ECC has really helped him. Truth is, why the sudden shift in character and wanting to take part. Something is up?