Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori resigns over sexist comment controversy
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Mori, later on, issued an apology for these remarks, but he had refused to step down as Tokyo 2020 chief.
Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori on Friday resigned as a result of massive outrage after making sexist comments. This decision comes with less than six months until the virus-postponed Games.
"My inappropriate statement has caused a lot of chaos... I wish to resign as president as of today," he told a meeting of Tokyo 2020's council and the executive board called to discuss his remarks.
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The 83-year-old sparked massive controversy after he said that women speak too much in meetings. "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," he reportedly told members of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
Mori, later on, issued an apology for these remarks, but he had refused to step down as Tokyo 2020 chief.
The former Japanese Prime Minister is known for embarrassing gaffes who led one of Japan's least popular governments ever. His controversial stint as Japan's Prime Minister ended in a year (April 2000-2001). Soon after taking the office, Mori declared that Japan "a country of gods centred around the emperor". This statement created a lot of controversy that potentially violated the constitution, which separates religion and politics.
Saburo Kawabuchi is set to take over Yoshiro Mori's role as Tokyo 2020 head. 84-year-old Kawabuchi is a former football player who is known to have played a huge role in popularising his sport in the 1990s. He was associated to 2020 games as the symbolic mayor of the Olympic Village.
Many politicians and sports stars were quick to condemn Mori's remarks and thousands of volunteers quit from the Games after former Japanese Prime Minister's (Yoshiro Mori) statement.
