Tokyo-2020 boss Yoshiro Mori is set to resign after his old-fashioned comments about women.
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Hiroto Sekiguchi / AP / SIPA
Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organizing Committee Chairman Yoshiro Mori is set to step down following an outcry over his sexist comments made last week, Japanese media reported Thursday.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, they claim that Yoshiro Mori, 83, informed officials of his willingness to step down and announced it in a meeting on Friday.
The Tokyo-2020 press service was not immediately available to comment on this information.
Big sponsors are stepping up to the plate
Yoshiro Mori, an 83-year-old former Japanese prime minister known for his verbal slippages, said last week that women have difficulty speaking in a concise manner, which is "annoying."
He awkwardly apologized the next day, while initially ruling out resigning.
An avalanche of criticism had followed in Japan and abroad.
Even sponsors of the Olympics, usually discreet, have stepped up in recent days, such as the automotive giant Toyota, also claiming that Yoshiro Mori's remarks were contrary to the Olympic spirit and the values they support.
The International Olympic Committee had initially judged the case closed, before estimating Tuesday that his words were "completely inappropriate", while the reactions were more and more lively.
Pressure from all sides
This scandal is a new thorn in the side of the organizers of Tokyo-2020, who were already struggling to rekindle enthusiasm for the Games (23 July-8 August 2021), postponed last year because of the pandemic, while the global health context remains worrying.
Athletes like the Japanese star of women's tennis Naomi Osaka, volunteers of the Olympic Games, elected representatives of the parliamentary opposition in Japan or even members of embassy staff in Tokyo have all protested in various ways in recent days.
Tokyo Mayor Yuriko Koike also stepped up the pressure on Wednesday by announcing that she was not planning to attend a meeting of all Olympic stakeholders scheduled for later this month.
His replacement already found?
Launched a week ago, an online petition urging Olympic officials not to stand idly by exceeded 146,000 signatures on Thursday.
Tokyo-2020 organizers are scheduled to meet on Friday to "express their views on Mr. Mori's remarks" and discuss their "future initiatives" on gender equality, according to a statement released Wednesday.
According to Japanese television channels TBS and NTV, former soccer player Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, could be named as a replacement.
Saburo Kawabuchi played a key role in the 1990s in developing professional football and popularizing the sport in Japan.
He also currently holds the symbolic function of mayor of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village.
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