The Tokyo Olympics organizing committee president, Yoshiro Mori, resigned from his role on Friday and issued a formal apology for his sexist remarks. This incident has created a stir globally, as outcry from countries all over the globe calling for Mori’s resignation pile onto the trouble a beleaguered Olympics has to content with.
The Tokyo Olympics were meant to commence in the Summer of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that an unsafe proposition. Instead, officials pushed the event back by one year, and the event will now take place this summer. Officials hope that, by the time of the opening ceremony, enough people will have been vaccinated that it’s safe to hold a major international sporting event,
Yoshiro Mori Resigns Over Sexist Remarks
The former prime minister Mori, who is 83, sparked outcry earlier this month when he stated during an official Olympic hearing that women “talk too much,” leading to immediate and intense global outrage. Calls for his resignation were swift and numerous, though Mori initially resisted calls to resign from his post.
“My inappropriate comments made big trouble. I’m sorry,” Mori said of his sexist statement in a meeting on Friday. He reasserted that his primary goal was for the Tokyo Olympics to be a success. The incident has sparked more questions about whether Japan can put the event together in time, in the midst of a pandemic, to meet the moment. With less than 5 months until the opening ceremony, Tokyo is now scrambling to get a new Olympics chief.
“The IOC will continue working hand-in-hand with his successor to deliver safe and secure Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 in 2021,” said Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee President.
Choosing a Successor
Mori’s successor will be chosen by a panel of an equal number of men and women, centered mainly around athletes. Many expect Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto , 56, to be chosen for the role. She has participated in the Olympics seven times herself, and her name is derived from the Japanese word for the Olympic flame. She was born a few days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Hashimoto recently told reporters she hasn’t been approached about replacing Mori as of yet, but confirmed that the IOC and Tokyo officials are still dedicated to making the Tokyo Olympics the best they can be. In spite of the rough road to the event, Tokyo hopes to put on a memorable show for the world.
