Tokyo 2020 President Mori steps down after hurling sexist remarks

Tokyo 2020 President Mori steps down after hurling sexist remarks
Yoshiro Mori

Yoshiro Mori, President of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee, resigns as he tossed unhealthy sexist remarks saying that women talked too much, the Fuji News Network reported on Thursday.

The comments, made at a Japanese Olympic Committee board meeting in the first week of February, set off a firestorm at home and abroad and could become the latest obstacle to the 2020 Summer Games, already postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It is expected that Mori will express his intention to step down on Friday when organizers of the Tokyo Olympics will hold a gathering of executive board members, the Mainichi daily newspaper reported. The meeting was organized over Mori’s remark.

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At a hastily called news conference on Feb 4, Mori, 83, retracted his remarks and said they were “inappropriate” and against the Olympic spirit, but he declined, at that point, to resign.

Yoshiro Mori raging remarks

As per reports, when pressed on whether he really thought women talked too much, he said: “I don’t listen to women that much lately, so I don’t know”.

Mori’s comments drew sharp comments on social media and in parliament, with opposition lawmakers demanding his resignation.

Tokyo Olympics 2020 were deferred to 2021 owing to the intense coronavirus satiation last year. As of now, they are slated to begin on July 23.

However, nearly 80 percent of the Japanese public are opposed to holding the Summer Games scheduled this year due to concerns about the coronavirus, recent polls show.

Also read: Tokyo Olympics: IOC releases statement condemning President Yoshiro Mori’s sexist remarks