The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee "scrapped the official logo after critics howled plagiarism" in "another humiliating reversal" over preparations for the Olympics, according to Shusuke Murai of the JAPAN TIMES. The committee said that "it would immediately launch a competition to design a new logo but underscored that it did not decide to pull the first emblem because it believes designer Kenjiro Sano is guilty of any wrongdoing." After an emergency meeting, Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee Dir General Toshiro Muto said, "We thought it might be difficult to get support from the general public" given the size that the issue has become. The committee said that Sano "requested the emblem’s withdrawal, and that he will not get paid for the design." The contested logo, "which is already widely in use in official circles and on sponsors’ materials, resembles that of a theater in Belgium." Sano "denied plagiarism, but he has faced a slew of subsequent allegations that critics said called into question the integrity of his work" (JAPAN TIMES, 9/1). In London, Leo Lewis wrote the decision to scrap the logos "comes as Japan is struggling to select a new, cheaper design for the national stadium after those plans were also ordered back to the drawing board" by Japan PM Shinzo Abe. Muto added that Sano "feared his work was now having a negative effect on the Olympics and had asked for his logo to be dropped." Muto: "To solve the situation, we think that we should respect his wishes." Ahead of the emergency meeting over the logo issue, Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe said that he "felt betrayed" by Sano and the process that had approved the designs (FINANCIAL TIMES, 9/1). The BBC reported Belgian designer Olivier Debie claimed that "the design was similar to his 2013 logo for the Theatre de Liege." He and the theater "filed a lawsuit to prevent it being used." Debie "expressed surprise at the organisers' decision on Tuesday as they had publicly backed the design only days earlier." He said, "I thought the Olympic committee was a big machine and I didn't dare to take action against them" (BBC, 9/1). In London, Justin McCurry wrote on Tuesday, local media said that "new accusations had emerged that Sano used a photograph from a website without permission when he presented his original logo." Sano had earlier said that his Tokyo 2020 design "was inspired by the emblem used when the city first hosted the Summer Olympics" in '64, adding that he had never set eyes on the Théâtre de Liège design (GUARDIAN, 9/1). REUTERS' Elaine Lies wrote a survey by TBS TV found that 85% of respondents "felt the logo should be changed." Masuzoe said, "Nobody can deny that the reputation of the logo has been tarnished. The responsibility for that lies with Mr. Sano" (REUTERS, 9/1).
