The Olympic Games are a celebration of sports, athleticism and general fitness. So you'd expect that the people selected to appear in visuals promoting the games would be, errr... how to say this... somewhat more svelte than Naomi Watanable, seen here holding a sign encouraging people to book their tickets now, to avoid disappointment.
Ms Watanabe is a Japanese comedienne who might be described as "plus-sized" or "BBW" or "the kind of girl you could put your arms around... and around... and around..."
Those weren't the words used by Sasaki Hiroshi, the creative director for the event, who announced he would resign after suggesting Ms Watanabe (or at least her character) should be called the "Olympig".
According to the English-language Japan Times, Mr Hiroshi made the politically incorrect remark during a meeting with staff last yeare, floating the idea of Ms Watanabe, descending from the sky during the opening ceremonies, dressed in a "cute pink" costume, complete with pig ears.
Ms Watanabe didn't think much of the idea. She is known for her "body positivity" (read: "fat is fine") advocacy work. According to the BBC, "in recent years she has spearheaded a body positive movement called 'pochakawaii', which translates to 'chubby and cute'." In a statement released yesterday by her agent, the chubby and cute comedienne said she hopes "for a fun, more harmonious world in which we can all respect each other and our unique ways of thinking."
Japan has one of the thinnest of all the world's populations, with only about 20% percent of its women considered overweight and only 3.2% classified as obese. (Those, of course, are round figures.) Japan has government ordinances that require nutrition and exercise counselling for people whose waist size exceeds certain limits. All the same, there is a small (???) but passionate fat-acceptance movement. Ah, those inscrutable Orientals.
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