TOKYO – Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori bowed to mounting pressure and resigned today over sexist remarks, but his replacement is not immediately clear after opposition emerged to his favoured successor.
The resignation and leadership vacuum left behind by the controversy add to the woes of organisers struggling to win over a sceptical public less than six months before the coronavirus-delayed Games.
Mori, 83, sparked domestic and international outrage by claiming last week that women speak too much in meetings, with officials, sports stars and Olympic sponsors slamming his comments as inappropriate.
Today, he announced that he is stepping down, effective immediately.
“My inappropriate statement has caused a lot of chaos. I would like to express my sincere apologies,” he told a meeting of Tokyo 2020’s executive board and council called to discuss his remarks.
“I wish to resign as president, as of today.
“What is important is to hold the Olympics from July. It must not be the case that my presence becomes an obstacle to that.”
There is confusion over who will succeed Mori, who initially selected well-known sports administrator Saburo Kawabuchi, 84.
The transition appeared a done deal, with the former footballer granting interviews to local media describing his planned priorities in the new job.
However, opposition to the selection of another octogenarian, and Mori’s control over the process, quickly mounted.
“Inside the organising committee, there are some voicing concern,” the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported today.
“I don’t think an old man like him taking over will convince the public,” it cited a source involved in organising the Games as saying.
Hashtags opposing Kawabuchi’s appointment are trending on Twitter in Japan, and the country’s Olympic minister, Seiko Hashimoto, insisted that “nothing has been decided”.
“The organising committee will make a decision... while listening to opinions from a range of people.
“It is desirable to go through a formal procedure.”
Mori’s resignation caps just over a week of uproar after he told members of Japan’s Olympic Committee that women have difficult speaking concisely, “which is annoying”.
He apologised, but then defended his remarks and told reporters: “I don’t speak to women much.”
The comments drew fire at home and abroad. Several hundred Olympic volunteers have since withdrawn, and a petition calling for action against him gathered nearly 150,000 signatures.
The fallout over Mori’s remarks comes with organisers already battling public doubt about holding the huge international event this summer.
Around 80% of Japanese polled in surveys recently back either further postponement or an outright cancellation.
Japan’s first Covid-19 vaccine approval is expected over the weekend, with thousands of medical workers first in line to be inoculated, likely by the end of this month.
However, the broader roll-out will move slowly, with vaccination of the elderly not set to start until April. – AFP, February 12, 2021
