TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 organisers on Thursday fired the show director for the Olympic opening ceremony on the eve of the event over a decades-old skit referencing the Holocaust, in the latest blow for organisers of the pandemic-delayed Games. But the decision will not affect the details of the ceremony, organisers said. Kentaro Kobayashi’s comments in a video of a comedy sketch from 1998 emerged online overnight and sparked shock from some in Japan. “It came to light that during a past performance, (he) used language that mocked a tragic fact of history,” Tokyo 2020 chief Seiko Hashimoto told reporters. “The organising committee has decided to relieve Kobayashi of his post.” In the sketch, Kobayashi and a comedy partner pretend to be a pair of famous children’s TV entertainers. As they brainstorm an activity involving paper, Kobayashi refers to some paper doll cutouts, describing them as “the ones from that time you said ‘Let’s play the Holocaust'”, sparking laughter from the audience. The pair then joke about how a television producer was angered by the suggestion of a Holocaust activity. In a statement, Kobayashi apologised, describing the skit as containing “extremely inappropriate” lines. “It was from a time when I was not able to get laughs the way I wanted, and I believe I was trying to grab people’s attention in a shallow-minded way.”