Japanese Composer For Tokyo Olympics Apologizes For Abuse

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.

Reports of him assaulting a disabled kid, which appeared online lately and were picked up by Japanese media, have sparked a reaction on social media, with many calling for his resignation.

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.

Oyamada, who apologized on Twitter as well, said he intended to contact and apologize to the individual he had bullied. He said that he had been “immature” and that remorse had kept him from coming forward previously.

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.

Yoshiro Mori resigned as president of the organizing committee earlier this year after making inappropriate remarks about women talking too much. Hiroshi Sasaki, the artistic director for the opening and closing ceremonies, resigned after suggesting that a Japanese actress dress up as a pig.

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.

“Otherwise, the Tokyo Games would have the bad legacy of having a perpetrator of horrific bullying work on the opening ceremony music, which will be repeated and replayed over and over again. That is a disgrace to our country,” Fujimoto added.