Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee Chair Apologizes for Saying "Meetings Last Longer When Women Are Present"

"Words Against the Olympic Spirit"... Retraction and Apology
Amid Growing Calls for Resignation from Various Sectors, "No Intention to Step Down"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Mori Yoshiro, Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee in Japan, apologized and retracted his remarks that disparaged women, which caused controversy. He firmly rejected calls for his resignation from various sectors, stating that he has no intention of stepping down.

According to Japanese local media such as NHK, at 2 p.m. on the 4th, Chairman Mori held a press conference where he retracted and apologized for his earlier controversial remarks disparaging women. The previous day, Mori made the remarks during a meeting of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) provisional council, saying, "Meetings of boards that include women take a long time," which sparked controversy.

The provisional council meeting was held via video conference and was open to reporters. During the meeting, Mori appeared to deliberately make disparaging remarks about women in response to a proposal to increase the number of female executives in the JOC. He said, "It's difficult to speak because there is television, but the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is making a fuss about selecting female members," and sarcastically added, "Boards with many women take a long time in meetings."

He continued, "The Rugby Association is like that now. Meetings take more than twice as long as before. There are about 10 or 5 women there," and claimed, "Women have a strong sense of competition. When one person raises their hand to speak, others feel they must also speak, so everyone ends up talking." Japanese media heavily criticized the JOC meeting for being filled with laughter despite Mori’s disparaging remarks about women.

Meanwhile, currently only 5 out of the 25 JOC members are women, accounting for 20%. The JOC aims to raise the proportion of women on the board to 40% in accordance with the Sports Agency’s policy under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology regarding the management of sports organizations.

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