TOKYO – Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee and former prime minister, may be forced to resign after making disparaging comments about women earlier this week.
It is an additional problem, as the organizers and the International Olympic Committee are trying to hold the Games postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic. The inauguration is scheduled for July 23.
The organizing committee said on Thursday that it did not make a statement, but that it expects to receive it later in the day.
Mori was reported by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper saying that women talk too much at meetings during an online meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee’s board of directors earlier in the week. His comments created a storm in Japan, where women are grossly underrepresented in politics and in meeting rooms.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Mainichi published Thursday, Mori, 83, apologized and suggested he could step down.
“I had no intention of disrespecting women,” Mainichi denounced him saying. “I believe I must fulfill my responsibility, but if the calls for my resignation increase, I may have to resign.”
He added: “I was careless on my part and would like to apologize.”
Asahi reported that he said on Tuesday at an online meeting: “Women are very competitive. When one of them raises their hand, they probably think they have to say something too. And then everyone says something.”
His comment came when he was asked about the presence of a few women on the board of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
“If we are going to have more directors, someone commented, the meetings last a long time, unless they restrict comments. I’m not saying who they are, ”he said.
The Tokyo Olympics he leads are already fraught with problems.
About 80% of Japanese in the polls say the Games should be postponed or canceled amid the pandemic. They also talked about the rising costs that can total more than $ 25 billion to put in these Olympics.