The artistic director of the Tokyo Olympics, responsible for the opening and closing ceremonies, said on Thursday that he would step down after the press published offensive comments by him about a Japanese host. A Japanese weekly revealed Wednesday that Hiroshi Sasaki had suggested last year to dress up popular host and actress Naomi Watanabe as pigs for the opening ceremony of the Olympics. In a statement, Mr. Sasaki said he was "deeply sorry" for this "serious insult" towards the plump young woman.