A member of the Japanese Olympic Snowboarding team was seen improperly wearing his national uniform in public, causing outrage in Japan.

Kazuhiro Kokubo, 21, along with three of the team’s coaches, were not allowed to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

The Ski Association of Japan imposed this punishment after deciding not to send him home.

The national uniform of Japan, for the Olympics, consists of a suit, tie and slacks.  Kokubo was rocking what some called a “Hip-Hop” approach, consisting of sagging pants slightly below an acceptable level and wearing a loose tie showing off his unbuttoned shirt.

Double nose rings, sunglasses and dread-locks didn’t help either.

Back in Japan, reports came in from all over of people being perturbed by his attire.

Tatsuo Kawabata, Japan’s Minister of Education, told CNN “its extremely regrettable that he dressed in a totally unacceptable manner as a representative of Japan's national team. He lacks the awareness that he is participating in the Olympic games as a representative of our country with everyone's expectations on his shoulders. This should never happen again.”

Nobuaki Tanaka, an Appalachian State University alumnus who graduated in December, and native of Japan said, “It’s like middle school and high school (in Japan).  You had to wear a uniform and he was just looking for a way to change it to look cool.”  Tanaka also said that he personally had “no problem” with the way Kokubo was dressed.

In an article by Telegraph, Kokubo commented on the incident by saying that the games were “nothing special” and “just another snowboarding event,” which was no help to the situation.

He was told to apologize publically.  His first attempt was ruined by the fact that he sarcastically dragged out his words, but his second apology seemed more sincere, ending with a bow, and was accepted.

Kokubo competed in the Men’s Halfpipe event and came in eighth with a high score of 35.7 out of 50.  American Shaun White received the gold medal with a score of 48.4

Story: WILL JOHNSON, World Today Contributor

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