Yoshiro Mori, the president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games organising committee, on Friday stepped down resigned from his post following his sexist remarks which drew criticism worldwide.
“My inappropriate statement has caused a lot of chaos. I wish to resign as president as of today,” Mori told a meeting of Tokyo 2020’s council and executive board called to discuss his remarks disparaging women’s participation in organising the Games.
Earlier, Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister, had come under increasing pressure after he had said last week that women speak too much in meetings.
“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” he had reportedly told members of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
Meanwhile, the organizing committee has reportedly sent an offer to Saburo Kawabuchi, former chairman of the Japan Football Association, to come aboard as the successor to Mori.