Tokyo expected to scrap 2020 Olympics logo amid plagiarism claims
Tokyo Olympic organizers are expected to scrap the logo for the 2020 Games on Tuesday following another allegation its Japanese designer might have used copied materials in presentations of the design.
Up to now, Olympic organizers have supported designer Kenjiro Sano against allegations of plagiarizing the design, but Japan's national broadcaster NHK said that the support will be withdrawn as a result of new accusations that Sano allegedly used an image from someone else's website without authorization.
There was no immediate comment from Olympic officials on reports that the logo will be withdrawn. But organizing committee executives were meeting Tuesday to discuss the issue and an announcement was expected following the meeting.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the organizing committee was making "an appropriate decision" and that the Olympic must be an event that is celebrated by everyone.
The logo scandal is another embarrassment for Japan, which scrapped the initial design of the main stadium for the Games following public uproar over its skyrocketing cost estimate. The delay caused by that revision meant the new stadium won't be ready for the 2019 Rugby World Cup as had been initially promised, and that organizers and builders will be struggling to meet the revised deadline of January, 2020 set by the International Olympic Committee.
Sano, who has faced allegations of plagiarism since the logo's July debut, now faces a reputation of a habitual plagiarizer.
The latest suspicion surfaced late Monday, when he was alleged to have taken a photo from someone else's website for use in his presentation of the Olympic logo, including one at its launch.
Sano allegedly altered part of a photo of a Tokyo airport lobby, replacing images of banners hanging from the ceiling with those of his Olympic logo. Details in the two photos, including people on the floor and the size of the banners, were identical in footages shown by NHK.
Earlier, a Belgian designer took legal action due to the similarity of Sano's logo design to one created for a theater in Belgium. Sano denied the allegation, but has faced other plagiarism questions over his past designs.
Sano then acknowledged eight of the 30 designs used for a brewery's promotional tote bags included copies of others' works. In those, however, he held his assistants responsible for having "traced" the images and he only apologized for the lack of oversight.
He also faces allegations that his design for a zoo in central Japan and another for a public museum outside Tokyo have close resemblance to others' works that had been published before him.
"I want Mr. Sano to provide an explanation. I feel like we have been betrayed," Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe told reporters earlier Tuesday.
