TOKYO — Keigo Oyamada, a Japanese composer whose music will be included in the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, has apologized for bullying a student when he was younger.
In 1990s Japanese magazine interviews, Oyamada, a well-known rock musician, talked about the torture in great detail.
“I apologize from the bottom of my heart, first and foremost to the classmate whom I have wounded, and then to all my fans, friends, and other people involved,” Oyamada, better known as Cornelius, stated on his website on July 16.
With only five days till the Games begin, the newest controversy has hit the Games, which are already dealing with the coronavirus epidemic. According to polls, the Japanese public is still concerned about health concerns, and some people want the event canceled or rescheduled.
Protesters confronted IOC President Thomas Bach in Tokyo and Hiroshima, the site of the World War II atomic explosion. The “welcome reception” for Bach, which is scheduled for Sunday evening at the state guesthouse, is also drawing criticism. Tokyo has declared a government-sanctioned “state of emergency” in response to the epidemic, advising residents not to venture out at night or congregate in large groups.
Professor of media studies at Toyo University, Takayuki Fujimoto, asked Oyamada to resign. The abuse, which began in elementary school and continued through high school, violated the Olympic ideals of diversity and human rights, according to an online remark by Oyamada.