Japan Olympic minister quits after gaffes

TOKYO: Japan’s minister in charge of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics stepped down on Wednesday after comments seen as hurtful to survivors of the 2011 tsunami, the latest in a series of gaffes.Yoshitaka Sakurada’s resignation comes less than 500 days before Tokyo hosts the Summer Games, and follows a decision by the head of Japan’s Olympic Committee to step down as French authorities investigate him.Sakurada “requested to resign after he hurt the feelings of victims” of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters. “And I accepted it.” “I deeply apologise for his remark to the people in the disaster-hit areas,” the prime minister added, saying he accepted responsibility for having appointed Sakurada as minister.The resignation comes after Sakurada made comments at a political gathering to the effect that a lawmaker from the disaster-hit region was more important than the recovery of the area, according to the public broadcaster NHK.

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