A GROUP of journalists slammed both the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) over the removal of a parody emblem that depicted the Olympic logo as the coronavirus.
The FCCJ published the image on the front cover of the April edition of its monthly publication for members, Number 1 Shimbun, but removed it after Tokyo organizers were irked and called the emblem “insensitive” and said it breached copyright laws.
Eleven journalists released a statement that criticized how the matter was handled.
“The Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee has asked the FCCJ to delete its parody of the logo, and reportedly threatened to sue for copyright infringement if their demands were not met,” the statement read. “The front cover served as a commentary on the deep relations between the spread of the coronavirus and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Parody is one valid way of speaking truth to power.
“Since 1945 the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan has been organized on the principles of freedom of the press,” the statement added. “As our articles of association put it ‘the objectives of this Association shall be…to defend the freedom of the press and the free exchange of information.
“The demand of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee to delete its parody of the 2020 Olympic logo from the internal club magazine was, therefore, entirely unacceptable from the outset,” it said. “The undersigned journalists are appalled by the fact that the club authorities did not meet their responsibility to defend freedom of the press, which was their most sacred duty. By their words and actions, they have undermined free expression in Japan and emboldened the enemies of democratic debate.”
Michael Penn of the Shingetsu News Agency, where the letter was published, also signed the document.
Jake Adelstein of The Daily Beast and former managing director of Number 1 Shimbun Steve McClure were also among the 11 signatories, as well as former FCCJ President Steven Herman. Insidethegames