Japan Redesigning 2020 Olympic Games Logo After Plagiarism Allegations

Tokyo Olympic organizers announced on Tuesday they would be getting rid of the current Olympic logo for the 2020 Games amid allegations that its creator, Kenjiro Sano, plagiarized the design from the works of a Belgian designer, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).  

"We have reached a conclusion that it would be only appropriate for us to drop the logo and develop a new emblem," Toshio Muto, the director general of the Tokyo organizing committee, told the Associated Press. "At this point, we have decided that the logo cannot gain public support."

Sano, meanwhile, defended his design, though he also agreed to withdraw it after hearing of the organizing committee's decision. 

"I swear my design did not involve copies or plagiarism," he said in a statement on his website, per the Associated Press. "Any attempt of suspected copying or plagiarism should never be permitted."

He added, "I have to protect my family and staff from persistent attacks and bashing over the ruckus. I feel the situation has become unbearable as a human being."

Sano has been accused of plagiarizing several projects in the wake of the Olympic logo scandal, including designs for "a brewery's promotional tote bags" and his designs for "a zoo in central Japan and another for a public museum outside Tokyo," per the Associated Press.

Japan will need to very quickly offer a new and unique logo for the 2020 Olympic Games to separate itself from this embarrassment as quickly as possible. It's the second major issue for the country in its preparations for the Games, as it had to scrap its original stadium plans as well due to astronomical costs. 

Japan needs to distance themselves as quickly as possible from the early blunders of its 2020 Games preparation, and a new logo would offer a symbolic departure from those gaffes.