TOKYO –Tokyo 2020 Games chief Yoshiro Mori has apologised and said he may have to resign after sparking a sexism row by claiming women speak too much in meetings, reported a Japanese daily today.
Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister known for public gaffes, told Mainichi Shimbun that he is sorry for his “thoughtless” remarks, which prompted calls for him to step down.
“If calls for my resignation grow louder, I might be compelled to resign,” he was quoted as telling the newspaper.
“It was thoughtless. I’d like to apologise.”
Mori is reported to have said yesterday that “board meetings with many women take a lot of time”, according to Asahi Shimbun.
“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying.”
The comments sparked a furious reaction in Japan, with the phrases “enough already”, “misogyny” and “we demand Yoshiro Mori resigns” trending on Twitter.
Mori said he has been taken to task by the female members of his family as a result, with his wife giving him a “thorough scolding”.
“She said: ‘You’ve said something bad again, haven’t you? I’m going to have to suffer again because you’ve antagonised women.’ This morning, my daughter and granddaughter scolded me as well.
“I was trying to say that I wonder about the general opinion that we should just increase the number of women.
“I wasn’t trying to slight women at all.”
He made the remarks to members of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC), some of whom reportedly laughed in response.
JOC decided last year to aim to have 40% female board members, but as of November, there were just five women among its 24 members.
‘Understands their place’
“We have about seven women on the organising committee, but everyone understands their place,” Mori reportedly said at yesterday’s meeting.
Tokyo 2020 has not responded to a request for comment on Mori’s remarks, but has called a press conference for later today that is expected to address the row.
Nippon TV reported that Mori will “firmly respond” to reports on his remarks, but that he is not planning to resign.
A government spokesman declined to be drawn on calls for his resignation, but JOC member and former judoka Kaori Yamaguchi called Mori’s comments “unfortunate”.
“Gender equality and considerations for people with disabilities were supposed to be prerequisites for holding the Tokyo Games,” the Sports Hochi newspaper quoted her as saying.
“It is unfortunate that the representative of the organising committee would make such a remark.”
While ranking highly on a range of international indicators, Japan persistently trails on promoting gender equality, placing 121st out of 153 nations surveyed in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 global gender gap report.
Mori has a history of making controversial remarks, and made waves earlier this week by insisting that the postponed Games will go ahead this summer “however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves”.
The comments come with polls showing around 80% of Japanese oppose holding the Games this year, and as several parts of Japan are under a virus state of emergency.
Today, a popular Japanese comedian described the remarks as “incomprehensible”, and said he will no longer take part in the Olympic torch relay, reported local media. – AFP, February 4, 2021
