(ATR)Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori apologized on Thursday for derogatory comments he made about womenduring an online Japanese Olympic Committee executive board meeting earlier this week.
In his remarks, which were leaked to the Japanese media, the 83-year-old former Japanese prime minister saidthat"women talk too much in meetings".
His comments reportedly came after he was asked about the Japanese Olympic Committee’s goal of increasing the number of women on its board of directors from 20 percent to 40 percent.
"Women are very competitive. When one of them raises her hand, they probably think they have to say something, too. And then everyone says something," Mori is reported as saying during the meeting.
"If we are going to have more women directors, someone has remarked, then meetings go on for a long time unless we restrict the comments. I’m not saying who that is."
Following Mori’s sexist comments Tokyo 2020 hastily arranged a media huddle on Thursday afternoon with only a few hours notice as they attempted to control the story.
"I recognize my comment yesterday was an inappropriate expression and went against the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics," Mori said at the media conference. "I profoundly regret it. I‘d like to withdraw my comment and apologize to the people whom I made to feel unpleasant."
Mori also said that he is not considering resigning.
Hashtags trending on Twitter in Japan on Thursday called for the cancellation of the Olympics and for Mori to resign,with some critics calling on sponsors to pressure Tokyo 2020 into dropping him from his leadership position.
Mori, who also drew ire with his choice of words when he said this week that the Olympics would go ahead "however the coronavirus evolves", failed to truly atone for his latest comments.
When asked directly at Thursday’s media huddle whether he believes women talk too long, Mori responded: "I don’t talk to women that much lately, so I don’t know.
"I hear often from other committees that women talk a long time during meetings.
"I don’t necessarily think that fretting over number of women in high positions is what is important. We have about seven women at the organizing committee, but everyone understands their place."
Tokyo-based consultant and W20 delegate Melanie Brock, who has lived and worked in Japan for the last 30 years and founded the social media project Celebrating Women in Japan (CWJ) which aims to raise the profile of women in Japan, reacted to Mori’s remarks and attempted apology.
"It was certainly very disappointing to see the comments made by Mori," said the Australian businesswoman who was honored with one of Japan's most prestigious awards in December in the form of a Foreign Minister’s Commendation.
"I was incensed but feel this way often. Mori isn’t the only one who says such stuff although he is a repeat offender. I tweeted that he is well known for his gaffes and a friend pulled me up saying these are not just gaffes or slips of the tongue. This is what he feels and thinks. Of course, this makes it much worse.
"Many will say this picked up today after the foreign press ran stories and the strong criticism of the statements by loads of people on Twitter. This one feels different though. The early NHK news program ran it, as did most of the morning shows. Normally these shows aren’t so quick to cover something like this (and have a lot on their books in any case) but it ramped up rather quickly. He made it worse for himself being testy and grumpy at the journalists this afternoon and the apology has been picked up as a non-apology etc."
When asked about whether Mori can hang on to his role as the head of Tokyo 2020, Brock said that we’re unlikely to see a change at the top of the organizing committee.
"He will be allowed to stay on and won’t have to resign. Who is going to pull him up for his bad behavior in any case? He is pretty powerful and has said what he likes for ages now.
"The only slightly positive element is the focus this issue will place on the issue of sexism in Japan. Many people have called it out today and that is welcome. My heart goes out to the women and men who have to work for people who use their power like this. Bullying is a major problem in Japan."
Tokyo 2020 spokesperson Masa Takaya said he has no comment when asked whether the calls for Mori to step down could affect Olympic preparations.
It appears likely that the controversy will continue to be a distraction for Tokyo 2020, which is already facing rising costs and significant public opposition to holding the Games, as it pushes onward to deliver the rescheduled Olympic and Paralympic Games opening in just over five months on July 23.
Mori’s initial comments which started the firestorm came on the same day that Tokyo 2020, the IOC and IPC, released the first of a series of "playbooks" providing key stakeholders a framework of principles and outlining measures to ensure a safe and secure Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Written and reported by Mark Pickering and Brian Pinelli
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