TOKYO (AP) – Yoshiro Mori resigned as chairman of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Friday after sexist remarks suggesting that women talk too much.
“Starting today, I will resign from the position of president,” he said to open a board of directors and a council meeting. The board would choose his successor later on Friday. Mori was appointed in 2014, just months after Tokyo won the bid to host the Olympics.
“My inappropriate comments have created a lot of chaos,” he said. He reiterated several times that he regretted the comments, but also said that he “had no intention of neglecting women.”
Mori’s departure comes after more than a week of non-stop criticism of his comments earlier this month. He initially apologized but refused to back down, followed by unrelenting pressure from television experts, sponsors and an online petition that drew 150,000 signatures.
But it’s not clear that his resignation will clear the air and return focus to exactly how Tokyo can hold the Olympics in just over five months amid a pandemic.
The Olympics begin on July 23, with 11,000 athletes and 4,400 more in the Paralympics a month later. About 80% in recent polls in Japan say they want the Olympics to be canceled or postponed, with clear support from about 15%.
According to initial reports, 83-year-old Mori had chosen 84-year-old Saburo Kawabuchi, the former president of the governing body of Japanese football and a former player himself. He played for Japan in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Kawabuchi is even older than Mori and will raise the question of why no wife was appointed. This is the center of the whole debate that Mori sparked about gender inequality in Japan and the absence of women from boardrooms, politics and sports administration. Women are also largely absent from leadership positions in the organizing committee.
Kawabuchi said on Thursday that he had been contacted by Mori and would accept the job if offered. But he later said he might not be the right choice and seemed to be backing down.
Japanese media immediately pointed out that there were three qualified women – all athletes and former Olympians and at least a generation younger – who could fill the job.
Kaori Yamaguchi won a bronze medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics in judo. Mikako Kotani won two bronze medals in the 1988 Summer Olympics in synchronized swimming. And Naoko Takahashi was a gold medalist in the 2000 Olympics marathon.
Seiko Hashimoto, the current Olympic Minister and former Olympian, has also been named as a candidate.
Mori’s comments have made it clear how far Japan is lagging behind other affluent countries in promoting women in politics or the boardrooms. Japan ranks 121st out of 153 in the World Economic Forum’s gender equality ranking.
Koichi Nakano, a political scientist at Sophia University in Tokyo, characterized Japan as a country still run “by a club of old men.” But he said this could be a turning point.
“Social norms are changing,” he wrote in an email to The Associated Press. “A clear majority of the Japanese found Mori’s comments unacceptable, so the problem has more to do with the lack of representation of women in leadership positions. This regrettable episode may have the effect of reinforcing calls for more gender equality and diversity in the halls of power. “
While some on Streets called for Mori to resign – several hundred Olympic volunteers say they are withdrawing – most decision-makers, including Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, stopped and simply condemned his comments.
A comment from Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp. a few days ago, seemed to move the needle.
Toyota is one of 14 so-called TOP Olympic sponsors who pay approximately $ 1 billion to the International Olympic Committee every four-year cycle. The company rarely speaks out on politics, and Toyota did not call for Mori’s resignation. But just talking about the matter might have been enough.
“The (Mori) comment deviates from our values, and we regret it.” Toyoda said.
Toyota and Coca-Cola are also major sponsors of the torch relay.
Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press author, contributed to this report.
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