Ceremonies chief sacked on eve of troubled Tokyo Olympics

Gymnasts are in training before the start of competition on Saturday

The Olympic Stadium will host the opening ceremony on Friday

The director of the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony was fired for jokes about the Holocaust on Thursday, causing fresh embarrassment a day before the pandemic-delayed Games finally get under way.

The latest row involving a senior Games figure comes at a time of widespread opposition to the 2020 Olympics as Tokyo battles its highest number of coronavirus cases since January.

But organisers will hope Friday's opening ceremony -- at a near-empty Olympic Stadium -- and the start of the full sporting programme on Saturday will change attitudes among a wary public.

Ceremonies director Kentaro Kobayashi was sacked after video emerged of a 1998 comedy sketch where he made jokes about the Holocaust, drawing laughter from the audience.

"It was from a time when I was not able to get laughs the way I wanted, and I believe I was trying to grab people's attention in a shallow-minded way," he said in a statement.

The Tokyo Olympics has lost a number of top officials including former chief organiser Yoshiro Mori, who stepped down over sexist comments in February.

Opinion polls have long demonstrated opposition to the Games, with the latest from the Asahi Shimbun newspaper finding 55 percent of respondents were against holding them this summer.

"I would like to pay tribute to all those who have been involved in the management of the Games for their efforts at various venues," Naruhito said, according to Kyodo news agency.

"It is completely different from the last Games when the whole town was filled with festive mood," Michiko Fukui, 80, told AFP in Tokyo's upmarket Ginza district.

"The number of infections is increasing rapidly again in Tokyo. I personally think the Olympics still should be postponed or cancelled."

USA beach volleyball player Taylor Crabb said he was out after testing, writing on Instagram that he was "devastated to not be competing".

Tokyo recorded 1,832 new cases on Wednesday, the highest since January. Experts estimate the number will jump to 2,600 in early August, according to Kyodo news agency.

Burnley striker Chris Wood's 72nd-minute winner secured a 1-0 victory for New Zealand over South Korea, while Spain stuttered to a goalless stalemate against Egypt.

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