Volkswacht Bodensee - Japan Olympic official sorry for 'utterly unacceptable' remarks

NYSE - LSE
RBGPF 1.57% 61.3 $
RYCEF -2.59% 18.16 $
CMSC -0.2% 22.065 $
CMSD 0.27% 22.02 $
BTI 1.06% 61.39 $
BCE 0.69% 23.2 $
RELX -0.19% 31.15 $
GSK -1.92% 51.09 $
RIO -1.65% 94.03 $
BP -3.88% 37.86 $
VOD -1.74% 13.81 $
NGG 1.52% 82.83 $
BCC 7.55% 77.66 $
JRI -0.48% 12.57 $
AZN 1.09% 183.02 $
Japan Olympic official sorry for 'utterly unacceptable' remarks
Japan Olympic official sorry for 'utterly unacceptable' remarks / Photo: © AFP

Japan Olympic official sorry for 'utterly unacceptable' remarks

The head of Japanese bobsleigh apologised on Tuesday and admitted making "utterly unacceptable" remarks that reportedly included an anti-Korean slur.

Text size:

Takahiro Kitano, who is also a Japanese Olympic Committee vice president, made the comments during an investigation into the two-man bobsleigh team's failure to qualify for this year's Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Kitano said in a statement that there were "instances where I failed to maintain my composure" during the internal probe.

The Japanese-language online edition of HuffPost reported that Kitano had used an anti-Korean slur.

"The use of such language is utterly unacceptable for someone entrusted with the management of a public sports organisation and I deeply regret my own lack of judgement," he wrote.

Bitter memories of Japan's brutal occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945 have long cast a shadow over Tokyo-Seoul ties.

Japan missed out on a place in the two-man bobsleigh competition at February's Milan-Cortina Olympics after the federation misunderstood the qualification requirements.

N.Schaad--VB