As if the 2020 (now 2021) Tokyo Summer Olympics hasn’t been besmirched enough, former Ghost in the Shell composer Keigo Oyamada, also known as Cornelius, has resigned from his compositional role in the Olympics after allegations of bullying arose from his past. Oyamada’s compositions were originally going to play during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and Paralympics.
The damning claims of bullying arose from past interviews in the January 1994 issue Rockin’On Japan magazine and the March 1995 issue of Quick Japan, respectively. Evidently, Oyamada didn’t simply shoot spitballs into the backs of people’s heads or shove someone into a locker, but rather, was involved with a slew of condemnatory acts that are hard to comprehend. I won’t mince words, so I apologize for the potentially harsh mental imagery:
- Wrapping someone in a mattress (The details are unclear, but perhaps by “mattress” the sources were referring to the more malleable Japanese futon)
- Locking a disabled student in a vaulting horse
- Rolling someone in string and forcing them to masturbate
- Forcing someone to eat feces
Oyamada issued an apology on Twitter on Friday, with the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games initially responding that they had no plans to force him to resign. After Oyamada announced his resignation the following Monday, game organizers reversed their position, saying their decision to let him stay on board in light of his apologies was the wrong move. Oyamada expressed that his own guilt held him back from coming forth and apologizing sooner. Who will replace Oyamada is currently unclear.
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The run-up to the Olympics has been a truly spectacular mess thus far. I remember arriving at Narita airport in August of 2019 and seeing the banners aligning the terminal walkways with “1 year to go!” written on them. I got the feeling that Japan was hyped and proud to be the host of the 2020 Olympics. Perhaps in some ways, that pride turned into a painful pressure point as organizers insisted on hosting the games in spite of the global pandemic. Even as public support for the Olympics waned in the aftermath of a sluggish vaccine rollout, lockdowns, and the announcement of spectator-less sports, the bad press only increased from thereon. Athletes from the US and Serbia arrived in Japan and then tested positive for the coronavirus, a Ugandan weightlifter absconded into the country, the organizing committee president resigned over sexist comments, composer Oyamada resigned after his bullying allegations, and to top it off, the Olympic village room-and-board decided to use anti-sex cardboard beds. That last one was partially debunked, but it’s symbolic of the farcical nature of some of the host country’s plans. Heck, they even wanted to give athletes condoms with traditional wood-block print artwork on them. The list goes on and on, and the games haven’t even started yet.
I feel as though the only way the Olympics could be redeemed is if Goku himself showed up and hosted the games.
Source: Anime News Network, Associated Press
