Mori, Japanese Olympic Committee Chair, Faces 'Misogyny' Controversy as 390 Volunteers Resign

▲Mori Yoshiro, Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Approximately 390 volunteers notified the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee of their resignation following Chairman Mori Yoshiro's 'misogynistic' remarks.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 9th, the 390 volunteers cited Chairman Mori's remarks as the reason for their resignation.

Earlier, at the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) extraordinary council meeting held on the 3rd, Chairman Mori sparked controversy over misogynistic remarks by stating, "A board with many women takes longer to conduct meetings," while discussing the issue of increasing female directors.

According to Kyodo News, two Olympic torchbearers also resigned citing Chairman Mori's remarks as the reason. The organizing committee received 350 phone calls and over 4,200 email inquiries in the past five days, of which 90% were protests and opinions regarding Chairman Mori's remarks.

On the 8th, Olympic sponsor companies participating in an online meeting hosted by the organizing committee expressed regret over Mori's remarks, stating they were "statements deviating from the Olympic spirit," according to the Mainichi Shimbun.

As the controversy spread, the organizing committee decided to hold a joint meeting involving directors and councilors around the 12th to discuss measures in response to Chairman Mori's remarks.

After his remarks sparked controversy, Chairman Mori told reporters on the 4th, "It was an inappropriate expression against the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics," but drew a line by saying, "I have no intention of resigning."

Regarding this, the Tokyo Shimbun reported that Mori said the day before that after criticism arose over his remarks, he "firmly decided to resign as chairman, thinking that he had caused trouble for everyone."

However, Mori told the Tokyo Shimbun that an executive of the organizing committee persuaded him to retract his intention to resign.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a key figure, expressed support for Mori continuing to lead the organizing committee at a press conference the previous day, saying, "I hope he will surely meet the expectations of those around him."

Regarding the resignation of volunteers, Secretary-General Nikai said, "Once the situation stabilizes, their thoughts will also change," and added, "If they want to resign no matter what, we will recruit new volunteers," which sparked further controversy.

Seiko Hashimoto, Minister in charge of the Olympics, attending the House of Representatives Budget Committee on the same day, described the volunteers' resignation as "very serious" and criticized Secretary-General Nikai's remark about recruiting new volunteers as "inappropriate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.