Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony Composer Apologises Over School Bullying | Olympics News
A composer for the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony has apologised after an outcry over old interviews in which he discussed bullying disabled schoolmates, the latest scandal for organisers. The outcry, just six days before the Games open, comes after the resignations of several key Tokyo 2020 officials in the run-up to the Olympics, including former chief Yoshiro Mori who stepped down over sexist comments. The latest furore involves the musician Keigo Oyamada, known as Cornelius, who is among the composers for the music for the opening ceremony.
After his involvement in the music for the opening ceremony began to circulate online earlier this week, interviews from the mid-1990s reemerged in which he discussed, without apparent remorse, his bullying of schoolmates with handicaps.
The bullying and his remarks sparked outrage online, and prompted Oyamada to issue a statement expressing “deep regret” about both his behaviour and his comments.
“I apologise from the bottom of my heart,” he said in a statement on his website.
Tokyo 2020 organisers in a statement said they had not been aware of the remarks “but they are inappropriate.”
