Tokyo Olympics chief set to step down over sexist comments in yet another blow to the Games

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori is set to step down on Friday over sexist comments he made earlier this month, with Olympic Village mayor Saburo Kawabuchi saying Mori asked him to take over.

Kawabuchi said he was in tears ahead of a meeting where he agreed to Mori’s request on Thursday.

“Mr. Mori was blunt, ‘I want you to take over now that this has happened,'” Kawabuchi, 84, told reporters Thursday evening.

“I thought about how difficult it must be for him and I couldn’t stop crying,” Kawabuchi said.

Mori, 83, a former Japanese prime minister, sparked a global uproar with sexist comments that women talk too much, which he did at an Olympic committee meeting.

Mori apologized for his comments but has so far not resigned despite growing calls for his resignation.

His resignation less than six months before the start of the Summer Olympics is likely to raise further doubts about the viability of hosting the Games postponed this year.

Games officials are already struggling to hold a safe Olympics, with tens of thousands of athletes and possibly spectators, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Kawabuchi, who represented Japan in football at the 1964 Olympics and is a former president of the Japan Football Association, said he wanted Mori to play a consultant role at the Games to help make the event a success.

Kawabuchi’s choice sparked questions on social media about whether there was a better alternative than an older male figure.

Later Friday, the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee, which has not formally commented on Mori’s resignation, plans to hold a meeting of its board and executive board, followed by a press conference.

Mori will explain his position at Friday’s meeting, Japanese Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto told parliament, referring to a phone call with Mori.

Hashimoto said the government will continue to work with other parties, including the International Olympic Committee, to prepare for the event based on Olympic principles.