TOKYO – The chairman of the organizing committee of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Yoshiro Mori, has decided to step down following the controversy created by his sexist comments, according to local media on Thursday.
Mori has communicated his decision to resign to people near the organization after ongoing criticisms he has received since his intervention came to light last week, sources close to the case told state broadcaster NHK.
The 83-year-old former Japanese Prime Minister spoke at a meeting of the Japan Olympic Committee about the alleged inconveniences caused by the presence of women at meetings, comments that have sparked a cascade of protests from the world of politics and sports, both within as outside outside of Japan.
“I had no intention of belittling women,” Mori said in statements to Mainichi newspaper last Thursday, also hinting at the possibility of stepping down as head of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee should people demand it.