TOKYO: Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and apologised again for sexist remarks that sparked a global outcry, leaving the troubled Olympics searching for a chief five months from the opening ceremony.
The resignation of former prime minister Mori, 83, will further erode confidence in the organisers’ ability to pull off the postponed Summer Games during a coronavirus pandemic.
A selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women, and centred around athletes, would choose a new president, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto told a news conference after a meeting of a board of advisers.
He did not say when the decision would be made but it had to be done “urgently”.
“Regarding qualities of a new president … experience in Olympics and Paralympics … Gender equality or diversity and inclusion … we need a person that has a really high-level of understanding of that,” Muto said.
Among the possible candidates, media said, was Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, 56, a seven-time Olympian and pioneering female lawmaker. Her first name is based on the Japanese words for the Olympic flame and she was born just days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics opened.
Hashimoto later told reporters she had not been asked to replace Mori and she sought to reassure the public that Japan would stay focused on preparations.
Mori sparked a furore when he said during an Olympic committee meeting this month that women talk too much, setting off a chorus of calls for him to be sacked. He initially refused to step down.
“My inappropriate comments caused big trouble. I’m sorry,” Mori said at the beginning of a meeting of senior organising committee officials on Friday, adding that the most important thing was for the Tokyo Olympics to be a success.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was “as committed as ever” to staging the Games, which are due to open on July 23.
“The IOC will continue working hand-in-hand with his successor to deliver safe and secure Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.
