Tokyo: The organizing committee of the 2021 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo on Thursday formally accepted the resignation offer of its creative director, Hiroshi Sasaki, in light of his ill-fated proposal for popular Japanese plus-sized comedian Naomi Watanabe to appear at the Olympics opening ceremony dressed as a pig, Seiko Hashimoto, media reported.
According to the Kyodo news agency, Organizing Committee head Seiko Hashimoto confirmed the report about Sasaki’s proposal and considered it as inappropriate and demonstrating a dismissive attitude towards women.
Earlier this week, news media cited Sasaki as suggesting last year to Olympics planning team members that celebrity Watanabe come down from the sky in a pig costume to play the role of an “Olympig.” The remark has been perceived as very insulting.
The news comes weeks after the resignation of Yoshiro Mori from the post of the president of the organizing committee after causing an uproar with sexist remarks.
The Summer Olympics in Tokyo were initially scheduled for 2020 but were postponed in the spring of last year amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Games are currently scheduled to be held from July 23 until August 8.
