JAPAN'S ambassador to Hollywood today apologized to the nation for the destruction of a twenty-foot tall monument to Magilla Gorilla towards the closing stages of the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games.

Ryuichiro Yamazaki spoke at a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the 8th anniversary of the Winter Games in Nagano, Japan that left over 100,000,000 Americans bored and ultimately saw the Japanese destroy a statue depicting the beloved Hanna-Barbera cartoon ape.

"The boredom that each American man, woman and child must have experienced in Nagano 8 years ago is beyond the imagination of any sane human being," he said at a memorial to the games in the Intramuros part of the city, "we were willing to try anything to generate interest in the Winter Olympics.  

"With this historical fact in mind, I would like to express my heartfelt apologies and deep sense of remorse over the tragic fate of Magilla," the ambassador said in an emotional speech.

"About 100,000,000 American civilians were bored, many of whom suffered atrocities by NBC's handling of the time delay and lackluster coverage of figure skating," he said.

The Magilla Gorilla first aired on January 14, 1964 and lasted 31 episodes.

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