Japan Olympic official sorry for 'utterly unacceptable' remarks

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

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, using the sentence "baka ya chon demo dekiru," which means meaning "anyone can do it." It can be translated literally as "even an idiot or a Korean can do it." Kyodo News reported that the word "chon" is an antiquated anti-Korean slur.

"The use of such language is utterly unacceptable for someone entrusted with the management of a public sports organization 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.

© 2026 AFP