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 former Prime Minister Mori, 83, will further erode confidence in the ability of organizers to host the postponed Summer Games during a coronavirus pandemic.

An athlete-focused, equally-composed selection committee would choose a new president, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto said at a press conference after a meeting a council of advisers.

He did not say when the decision would be made, but it had to be done “urgently”.

“In terms of the qualities of a new president … the experience of the Olympic and Paralympic Games … gender equality or diversity and inclusion … we need someone who has a very high level of understanding of that, ”Muto said.

Among the possible candidates, media said, Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, 56, a seven-time Olympian and pioneer of the legislature. Her first name is based on the Japanese words for the Olympic flame and she was born a few days before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

Hashimoto later told reporters that she had not been asked to replace Mori and she sought to reassure the public that Japan would remain focused on the preparations.

Mori sparked fury when he said at an Olympic committee meeting this month that women talk too much, triggering a chorus of calls for him to be sacked. He initially refused to resign.

“My inappropriate comments caused big problems. I’m sorry, ”Mori said at the start of a meeting of senior organizing committee officials on Friday, adding that the most important thing was for the Tokyo Olympics to be a success.

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.

‘PITY’

Mori on Thursday asked Olympic Village mayor Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, to take over the post, but on Friday, amid public dismay that the chosen successor was another older man, media reported Kawabuchi had turned down the job. post.

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

Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato declined to comment on the matter except to say things would be done according to procedures and in a transparent manner.

The Mori 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 matter and adding that many officials want a woman replaces Mori.

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, but said 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 in an email that the Olympics were a chance to showcase 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.