It seems as though nothing is going right for the Tokyo Olympics.

First, the building plans for the new Olympic stadium were scraped in early July due to its costly price tag (approx. 250 billion yen). Now the logo is being tossed after concerns of alleged plagiarism arose since its debut in late July.

Kenjiro Sano’s design of the Tokyo Olympics emblem looks very similar to designer Olivier Debie’s Théâtre de Liège emblem which has been out and about since 2013.

Suggested Activity
Asakusa Cultural Walk & Matcha-Making Tour
Discover the history and traditions of the old town in Tokyo, Asakusa. Offered by MagicalTrip, a top tour operator in Japan with 5,000 TripAdvisor Reivews! ...

Even after having Sano defend his design, the organizing committee thought it best to do away with the logo since “We thought it might be difficult to get support from the general public.”

And that’s true. But it’s not entirely because of the alleged copycatting. Although there was plenty of love for Sano’s design, there was an equal amount of dislike for its aesthetics.

Yikes. What do you think?

Written by:
BIO: Tokyo Cheapo's resident cost saving expert.
Filed under: Editorial
Ask our local experts about Tokyo

Get our Tokyo Cheapo Hacks direct to your inbox

Watch this next