TOKYO – The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee on Thursday appointed Seiko Hashimoto, Japanese cabinet minister responsible for the Olympics and gender equality, to replace Yoshiro Mori, 83, who resigned last week after an international storm over comments sexist.
The choice of Ms. Hashimoto, 56, an Olympic medalist in speed skating, represents a radical change of generation and gender for the committee, which initially planned to nominate another octogenarian leader, Saburo Kawabuchi, former head of the governing body of Japanese football, as Mr. Mori’s replacement.
Although the choice has not strayed too far from the establishment, both Mori’s resignation and Hashimoto’s appointment reflected the growing power of Japanese social media and activists to influence the course of what was seen as an important symbolic decision.
“In the past, he should have just been criticized and then the problem would have ended,” said Kazuyo Katsuma, a former businesswoman and author of bestselling books on gender balance and working life, talking about Mori. “But this time he had to resign because of a lot of criticism from women who raised their voices.”
A public outcry on social media also prompted the organizing committee to abandon its original choice of successor. Last week, after Kawabuchi, 84, told reporters he was prepared to accept an offer to succeed Mori, the organizing committee quickly changed plans after critics pointed out Mr. Kawabuchi’s age, his apparent support for corporal punishment of children and the fact that he was handpicked by Mori himself.
Following Mori’s resignation last Friday, Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the organizing committee, announced the formation of a new selection committee, made up of half men and half women, to choose a successor just five months before the start of the Games. in July.
Several names have appeared in the Japanese media, but Ms. Hashimoto has always seemed to be the absolute leader.
Ms. Hashimoto is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s government and has served in the upper house of Japan’s parliament since 1995. Upon accepting the position of chairman of the Olympic organizing committee, Ms. Hashimoto gives up her position in office, halving the number of women in Mr. Suga’s office.
Speaking on Thursday afternoon after being officially appointed by the executive board of the Tokyo organizing committee, Hashimoto said his first priority would be to implement coronavirus protection measures at the Summer Games so that “both the Japanese people and the people abroad will think that the Tokyo Games are safe and protected. ”
But she acknowledged that she was taking office after a scandal stemming from her predecessor’s sexist comments – comments that raised questions about the organizing committee’s commitment to gender equality.
She said she would work to establish a “gender equality promotion team” within the month.
Hashimoto is no stranger to being a pioneer as a woman in spaces dominated by men. She was the second member of Parliament to give birth while in office, and to accommodate her, Parliament changed its rules to allow members to have time off for childbirth. Mrs. Hashimoto took a week off when her daughter was born.
As an Olympic athlete, Ms. Hashimoto competed in a total of seven Olympic Summer and Winter Games in the 1980s and 1990s, competing in speed skating and cycling. She won the bronze medal at the 1,500-meter speed skating event at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, in 1992.
Hashimoto entered politics when Mori was secretary general of Liberal Democrats, and she joined his political faction, one of a handful of influential groups that can determine the careers of lawmakers in Japan.
“I think Hashimoto was chosen so that Mori’s influence could be maintained,” said Atsuo Ito, an independent political analyst and former member of the Liberal Democratic and opposition Democratic team. “She is a Mr. Mori puppet.”
Kazuko Fukuda, a women’s rights activist and one of the authors of a Change.org petition that criticized Mr. Mori’s comments, said he was happy that the Olympic committee finally “really valued the voices of the people” and changed the course after his initial selection to replace Mr. Mori.
“It looked like it was already decided without any meetings or discussions,” said Fukuda. “For a long time, everything was decided at the dinner table after hours, so that many people who have to do the care work, especially women, could not adhere to the important decision-making process, which really hurts women.
Japanese women who have been watching the scandal unfold said they saw some hope in choosing Hashimoto – or at least in the withdrawal of another elderly man.
“It is a step in the right direction because we are talking about it,” said Robin Narimatsu, 45. “Just growing up in Tokyo, all these misogynistic views are so ingrained in our society that most people don’t realize it.”
“It is so normal for all decision makers to be middle-aged or old men,” said Narimatsu, who sits on his father’s restaurant and real estate board and is raising two teenagers. “I feel like people are finally recognizing and seeing this as a potential problem.”
Makiko Inoueand Hisako Uenocontributed reports.