Japanese-Haitian tennis star Naomi Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron in the crowning moment of the opening ceremony
TOKYO – Emili Omuro was thrilled by Naomi Osaka’s star turn at the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony, but the biracial teenager says Japan must do more to accept people of mixed heritage.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, whose mother is Japanese and father Haitian, climbed a replica Mount Fuji on Friday to light the cauldron in the ceremony’s crowning moment.
And she wasn’t the only athlete of dual heritage representing the host.
Japanese-Beninese NBA basketball star Rui Hachimura was one of the flagbearers leading Japan’s team into the Olympic Stadium.
Osaka and Hachimura are adored in Japan, and boast lucrative sponsorship and advertising deals.
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