Tokyo Olympics chief resigns, apologizes again for sexist comments

TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and again apologized for sexist remarks that sparked a global outcry, leaving the struggling Olympics in search of a chef five months after the opening ceremony.

The resignation of the 83-year-old former prime minister further erodes confidence in the ability of organizers to host the postponed Summer Games during a coronavirus pandemic.

An athlete-focused, equally male and female selection committee would choose a new chair for the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, group chief executive Toshiro Muto said at a ‘a press conference.

“We need to choose the next president urgently,” Muto said, without saying when. The new president needed Olympic or Paralympic Games experience and a “very high level understanding” of gender equality, diversity and inclusion, he said.

The issue has drawn worldwide attention to the gender disparity in the world’s third largest economy. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has championed a policy of “Womenomics”, but activists and many women say Japan still has a long way to go – especially in the workplace.

Mori was all the rage when he said at an Olympic committee meeting this month that women talk too much. He initially refused to resign.

“My inappropriate comments caused big problems. I’m sorry, ”Mori said on Friday, adding that the most important thing was the success of the Tokyo Games.

Mori rekindled the flames on Thursday by asking the mayor of the Olympic Village, Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, to take over. This sparked general public dismay over the message sent to another man in his 80s and media later reported that Kawabuchi had turned down the post.

“We can’t give the impression that things have changed unless we install a woman or see a generational change,” a government source told broadcaster Fuji News Network.

Seiko Hashimoto, a pioneering lawmaker and seven-time Olympian, was among the candidates to replace Mori, media said. Born a few days before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, her first name is based on the Japanese word for the Olympic flame.

Hashimoto said he was not asked to replace Mori and that Japan will remain focused on preparations.

‘PITY’

The controversy has done “serious damage to the reputation” of the Tokyo Olympics, said a source involved in the Games, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue and adding that many officials want a woman replaces Mori.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who has seen his government’s popularity drop after its handling of the coronavirus crisis, said the selection process should be rules-based and transparency-based.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was “as determined as ever” to host the Games, which are scheduled to open on July 23.

“The IOC will continue to work hand in hand with its successor to organize a safe and secure Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, herself a trailblazer as Tokyo’s first female leader, avoided a straightforward response when asked at a press conference who should be Mori’s successor. She said, however, that the person should embody the Olympic ideals of inclusiveness and be someone the world can accept.

“Diversity and harmony – this is something that the person at the top has to understand, embody and disseminate,” she said.

Tammy Parlor, head of the Women’s Sports Trust in Britain, told Reuters the Olympics were a chance to show equality.

“The bigger question is not what a man says, but how the Olympic movement can capitalize on its visibility to promote brilliant women in all sports and create greater diversity behind the scenes in leadership positions,” he said. she declared.