TOKYO (Kyodo) – The head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee said on Wednesday that meetings with many women tend to “drag on” longer than necessary.
“The education ministry has been very insistent on the choice of principals. But a board meeting with many women will extend this,” said Yoshiro Mori, referring to the Japanese Olympic Committee’s plan to increase the number of women in its advice.
Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of JOC advisers, the 83-year-old cited her experience as a former president of the Japan Rugby Football Union, saying: “Women have a strong sense of rivalry. If a (female) member stands up the hand to speak, everyone else needs to speak too. Everyone ends up saying something. ”
The JOC has set a goal of increasing the number of women on its board to 40 percent. Women currently represent only 20% of the members.
“Someone told me that if we increase the number of women (on the council), we will also have to restrict their speaking time. Otherwise, they will never stop, which is problematic, ”said Mori.
But at the same time, the former Japanese Prime Minister praised the caliber of the seven women currently on the board of 35 members of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, saying that many had already served in sports leagues and had valuable international experience.
“Your immediate observations are of great help to us,” he said.
JOC director Kaori Yamaguchi, who has worked tirelessly for years to revitalize the male-dominated world of sports by increasing the presence of women, criticized Mori for his comments.
“Gender equality and consideration for people with disabilities should be taken for granted at the Tokyo Games. It is unfortunate to see the chairman of the organizing committee make such an observation, ”she said.
As part of its strategic roadmap for the future, the International Olympic Committee in 2014 set the goal of reaching 50 percent of women’s participation and encouraging mixed team events in the games.
It managed for women to represent 48.8% of athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics, with plans to make the 2024 Olympics in Paris the first to feature an equal number of male and female participants.
With less than six months to go before the Tokyo Olympics, Mori also reiterated that the games will be “played at any cost”, setting aside rumors that they would be postponed again or canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are running some simulations while, of course, we assume that there will be no spectators,” he said.