Tokyo Olympics chief admits he may have to resign after saying women ‘talk too much’

Yoshiro Mori said women in meetings were "annoying"

Credit: GETTY IMAGES

The president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics said on Thursday that he may need to resign after sparking controversy with his disparaging remarks about “annoying” women talking too much in meetings.

Yoshiro Mori, a former prime minister of Japan, caused surprise when he told Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) members during an executive online meeting that “board of director meetings with many women take a lot of time”.

Elaborating on his theory, he continued: “When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying.”

His comments – which were made in the presence of journalists and reportedly prompted laughter – were in response to the JOC’s plans to increase the number of women on its board, which has only five female members out of 24.

Following a flood of high-profile criticism, Mr Mori, 83, told the Mainichi newspaper on Thursday morning that he wanted to apologise for his “careless” comments and admitted that his wife was cross with him the previous evening due to his remarks.

Mr Mori, who has acquired something of a reputation for gaffes during a decades-long political career, added that he may need to consider resigning, if calls for him to step down strengthen.

There are only five women on Japan's 24-person board for the Tokyo Games

Credit: REUTERS

During the meeting on Wednesday, Mr Mori also complained about women’s “strong sense of rivalry”, citing his experiences as former president of the Japan Rugby Football Union: “If one [female] member raises her hand to speak, all the others feel the need to speak too. Everyone ends up saying something.”

After the meeting, there were growing calls on social media for Mr Mori to step down over his comments, which cast Japan’s deep-rooted social issues relating to institutionalised gender inequality starkly into the spotlight.

Kaori Yamaguchi, JOC director, who is renowned for her dedicated work aimed at boosting female presence in the male-dominated sports world, was among those who expressed disappointment at his remarks.

“Gender equality and consideration for people with disabilities were supposed to be a given for the Tokyo Games,” she told Kyodo news. “It is unfortunate to see the president of the organising committee make such a remark.”

The scandal sparked by Mr Mori’s comments is the latest in a string of challenges already weighing heavily on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which were delayed to this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite growing public opposition to the games, rising costs and a vaccination programme which has still not started, Mr Mori has been vociferous in his insistence that the Olympics will still go ahead.