Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony director sacked for past comments on the Holocaust

Kentaro Kobayashi was sacked because of comments that made fun of a tragedy, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said.

Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony director Kentaro Kobayashi fired for past comments on the Holocaust (ABC News)

The director of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics has been dismissed following news reports about his past comments on the Holocaust.

Kentaro Kobayashi was sacked because of comments that made fun of a tragedy, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said.

Mr Kobayashi — a comedian, actor, director, and manga artist — was accused of using a joke about the Holocaust in a comedy act as part of TV comedy duo Rahmens back in 1998, including the phrase: "Let's play Holocaust."

His dismissal comes just a day before the opening ceremony of the pandemic-delayed Games.

Global human rights organisation the Simon Wiesenthal Center condemned the comments.

“Any person, no matter how creative, does not have the right to mock the victims of the Nazi genocide," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center's associate dean, said.

Photo: A poll by public broadcaster NHK found that 63% of respondents said the Olympics should be postponed again or cancelled. Credit: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters