- Tokyo Olympics Chief Yoshiro Mori, 83, set to step down as president.
- Mori earlier this month had made a sexist comment at the Japanese Olympic Committee – that women talk too much
- Saburo Kawabuchi, Mayor of Olympic village is reported to replace Mori
Yoshiro Mori
Tokyo Olympics Chief Yoshiro Mori is set to step down as president after his sexist remarks had sparked a controversy. The remarks which created the outrage were made at the Japanese Olympic Committee board of trustees meeting earlier this month.
“If we increase the number of female board members, we have to make sure their speaking time is restricted somewhat, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying. Women are competitive. If one member raises their hand to speak, others might think they need to talk too, Mori was quoted as saying.
Yoshiro Mori had apologized after that but the hole was dug deep enough. He offered an apology, adding that his comments were “inappropriate” and “thoughtless”
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A strong reaction against these remarks came from all over the world. An online campaign or a petition for action against Yoshiro Mori gained over 146000 signatures. Many popular sports personalities condemned Mori’s comments. Naomi Osaka was one of them to slam Mori’s comments as ignorant.
A total of 80 thousand volunteers were recruited for the coronavirus postponed Summer Olympics Games. Around 400 Olympic and Paralympic volunteers had quit according to few news reports.
Tokyo Olympics Sponsors Toyota also issued a statement saying, “It’s very regrettable that the comments made by the leader of the organizing committee differ from the values that Toyota holds”
Now according to few news reports from Reuters, Fuji News Network and NHK, Mori will submit his resignation during the meeting of Games organizers on Friday.
The Mayor of Olympic village, Saburo Kawabuchi is set to replace Mori as per a few reports.
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