Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Covid-19 News

Under-fire Olympic composer steps down over past bullying

Japanese composer Keigo Oyamada is seen in this Oct. 2006, photo. Oyamada, a Japanese composer working on the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, resigned on Monday, July 19, 2021, after coming under fire for bullying a classmate during his childhood.(Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Keigo Oyamada, a Japanese composer working on the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, resigned on Monday after coming under fire for bullying classmates during his childhood.

“I sincerely accept the opinions and advice I have received, express my gratitude, and will keep them in mind for my future actions and thoughts,” he said on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

“I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

Reports of his past abuse of classmates, including those with disabilities, surfaced online recently and sparked a backlash on social media plus demands for his resignation.

The Tokyo Games organizers said on Sunday that he would stay on because he had shown remorse.

Oyamada, 52, also known as Cornelius, apologized online last week.

Some critics had said he should hold a news conference and apologize in person. Others questioned why he hadn’t apologized earlier.

Oyamada, whose works have been compared to the American rock musician Beck, talked about the abuse in Japanese magazine interviews he gave in the 1990s.

In a statement on Sunday, Atsuko Kubo, head of an association of families of the mentally disabled, “strongly protested” against Oyamada’s past actions and said it was disturbing he had targeted the disabled, who were less likely to fight back and that he still bragged about it years later.

Earlier Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Oyamada’s past bullying goes against government policy of achieving an inclusive society and “cannot be tolerated.”

It was not immediately clear if the music for Friday’s opening ceremony would be modified. The show will be held without spectators in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus infections, although some officials, guests and media will attend.

The resignation comes as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government faces criticism for prioritizing the Olympics despite the public’s health concerns amid the resurgence of the infections.

Oyamada’s is the latest resignation to plague the Games. Yoshiro Mori resigned as organizing committee president over remarks perceived as sexist. Hiroshi Sasaki also stepped down as creative director for the opening and closing ceremonies after suggesting a Japanese actress should dress as a pig.

___

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Copyright 2020 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/composer-keigo-oyamada-bullying-2020-tokyo-olympics-674cac7836e317f9926a94ed93fee884

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Business News

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on...

Business News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that...

Entertainment News

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby apologized Monday after his father-in-law, disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles, was seen on the field with...

Business News

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A major rescue operation is underway in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to bring out an American researcher who fell seriously ill...

Copyright © 2023 Newsworthy News | Global | Political | Local | All News | Website By: Top Search SEO