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With the Tokyo Olympics behind us, a majority of Japanese people seem to feel it was a worthwhile endeavor in the end. However, that wasn’t the case in the days leading up to it, when surging COVID-19 infections were fueling opposition to the event, and the staff behind its opening ceremony were announced only to find that key positions filled by people with checkered pasts.
When the team was publicly announced on July 14, just nine days before the ceremony was to be held, it was discovered that musician Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius) once boasted about bullying he did as a youth in a 1994 magazine interview. This ultimately led to him and much of his contributions to the ceremony being cut from the performance.
By the time the dust was just beginning to settle on that scandal, footage of a Holocaust joke made by the ceremony’s director Kentaro Kobayashi emerged, resulting in his swift removal on the day before the Olympics were to begin.
The show must go on, however, and it did with a reasonably good reception, perhaps aided by the fact that a subdued opening ceremony was considered more appropriate for these troubled times.
▼ Let’s all give thanks that those delightful pictogram people were never arrested for cocaine or anything.
So, how about the Paralympics which are set to kick off on Tuesday? Are the members of its opening ceremony production team squeaky clean or do they too have salacious skeletons in their closets?
We don’t know because the Japan Paralympic Committee clearly learned from its Olympic counterpart’s mistakes and won’t reveal who is involved. Nikkan Sports News reported that according to interviews with people involved, the JPC decided that announcing the team members beforehand was too risky. Instead, the people responsible for the opening ceremony’s creation will be unveiled on the same day, which probably won’t give the press enough time to raise a fuss about any questionable members by the time the lights go up.
From the standpoint of reducing the chances of a pre-ceremony crisis, it’s probably a prudent move. However, it’s really bad optics and isn’t going over well at all, if online comments are any indication. Some have even begun to question if this means the JPC already knows they have suspect people on the team and are trying to deliberately cover it up.
“Is it that bad?”
“I feel like I have a right to know where my tax dollars are going.”
“Lol. Sounds like someone there definitely has a problem.”
“It will be worse if a scandal comes out after the fact.”
“That’s reasonable. There’s sure to be someone who did something questionable in the past 20 or 30 years. No one’s perfect.”
“Nothing like a shady cover-up to start off an international sports competition.”
“This is not the best solution.”
It probably isn’t the best solution as the last comment said, and seems to follow the adage that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. If anything, the team should have been determined and announced far in advance to allow for additional vetting by the public and press, since it’s clearly an inevitable part of the process.
The original Tokyo Olympics logo is a good example. It was unveiled way back in 2015, suspected to have been plagiarized a few days later, and then scrapped about a month after that, resulting in the current design that we all know and think is kind of alright today. The problem was nipped in the expensive bud, and most people don’t even remember that fat Java sparrow anymore.
Source: Nikkan Sports News, Itai News
Read more stories from SoraNews24
-- Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee to review opening ceremony…that’s scheduled for tomorrow night
-- Cornelius resigns from Olympics, suddenly pulled from Sony webpage and NHK shows too
-- Looks like it’s time to say good-bye, and maybe good riddance, to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics logo
© SoraNews24
16 Comments
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kurisupisu
Who really cares anymore -the scandals just keep coming!
Never mind the hidden ones…
Cricky
majority of Japanese people seem to feel it was a worthwhile endeavor in the end
How was that established as a fact?
JPC decided that announcing the team members beforehand was too risky.
That’s comforting, best not to say I guess.
Cricky
Team behind Paralympic opening ceremony kept secret for fear of past scandals coming to light. How about letting it come to light? Fix the problem not hide the problem. This just looks so bad. Give into fears and embolden those same fears. Everyone knows the entertainment industry is rife with the most twisted people, stop making it secret. Might get genuine people involved.
dagon
Let’s all give thanks that those delightful pictogram people were never arrested for cocaine or anything.
Yeah because that is something no great artist has ever done....
We don’t know because the Japan Paralympic Committee clearly learned from its Olympic counterpart’s mistakes and won’t reveal who is involved. Nikkan Sports News reported that according to interviews with people involved, the JPC decided that announcing the team members beforehand was too risky. Instead, the people responsible for the opening ceremony’s creation will be unveiled on the same day, which probably won’t give the press enough time to raise a fuss about any questionable members by the time the lights go up.
A solution often used by Japanese business, make it a fait accompli, they can apoligize later if one turns out to be a child molester
“Nothing like a shady cover-up to start off an international sports competition.”
This guy gets it.
smithinjapan
Good old Japan. Why get rid of people who might be plagued with scandals when you can just hide them being involved until it's too late?
Alfie Noakes
As economical with the truth as ever.
Paul
I want my TAX refunded!
O'Brien
Few years from now, old Cornelius will be an unperson on the assumption that record stores still exist:
Customer: "Excuse me, where would I find CDs by Cornelius?"
Staff: "I'm sorry, what was the artist's name again?"
Customer: "Cornelius"
Staff (consults computer): "I'm sorry, there seems to be no record of an artist with that name"
Customer: "Could you look under his real name, Oyamada Keigo?"
Staff (consults computer): "I'm afraid nothing comes up under that either"
Customer: "You're about the same age as I am. You must remember him. Flipper's Guitar, Shibuya-kei, you know the guy?"
Staff (sweating): "I am very sorry, I have never heard of him".
isoducky
The more things change, the more they stay the same. I can see more project leads taking on temporary pseudonyms to help everyone stay on task. Of course this plays more into corporate hands as this move gives them more influence on projects as their is no individual leader or leadership figurehead.
GW
Must be some real scumbags involved in the para games me thinks!!!
NOMINATION
I normally agree but what Cornelius did was criminal and he continued to laugh about it as an adult. Having a brother with autism it really hit me hard what he did and I wish him nothing but the worst of luck.
Iron Lad
Cancel culture, America's dirty culture.
itsonlyrocknroll
PR hid and seek that can and probably will stoke unnecessary media speculation during the Paralympics.
Just name the team and be done with it.
itsonlyrocknroll
Politicians they never learn. You can't hide anything under the sofa.
The media will lift it up and relentlessly beat you over the head with it.
Hold it up in the air and own it.
Pukey2
So tax-payers aren't allowed to know where their money is going?