"Tokyo Olympic composer quits over bullying of disabled children" 19 July 2021

Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada resigned on Monday from the creative team for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics after admitting that he bullied children with disabilities many years ago, in the latest scandal rocking the already unpopular games.

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The organizing committee said in a statement that while recognizing Oyamada's actions as "absolutely unacceptable," they decided to have him stay in his post, taking into account his apology and the forthcoming games. But they said "this decision was wrong" and decided to accept his resignation.

He will also no longer be involved in the opening ceremony of the Paralympics, set to start Aug. 24, said Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto.

The well-known musician's exit from the games followed days of controversy over his confessions in magazines published in the 1990s in which he boasted about bullying people including his classmates in his childhood. After his appointment was announced last Wednesday, his confessions from decades ago surfaced and calls for him to step down intensified.

Oyamada admitted on Friday that interviews published in the January 1994 edition of magazine "Rockin'On Japan" and in the August 1995 edition of magazine "Quick Japan" had quoted him correctly when he spoke about bullying childhood classmates with disabilities "without any regrets."

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Yoichiro Yamazaki, editor-in-chief of Rockin'On Japan, also apologized for running the interview with Oyamada, saying "It was the wrong thing to do from the point of view of morals and sincerity."

"I offer a deep apology to all the victims and their families as well as to those who felt displeasure reading the story," said Yamazaki, who interviewed Oyamada for the story in question.

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