Tokyo 2020 Games chief issues grovelling apology but REFUSES to resign

The boss of the Tokyo Games has issued a grovelling apology but is resisting calls to resign after making sexist comments about women.

Yoshiro Mori, the 83-year-old former prime minister, was quoted as saying women talk too much in meetings when asked about the lack of females on the board of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC).

His remarks have been slammed by Olympic athletes, politicians and campaign groups, with the hashtag #Moriresign trending on Twitter.

Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori speaks at a press conference today where he apologised for his sexist comments but refused to step down from the organising committee 

But Mori, the Tokyo 2020 organising committee president, said he had ‘no intention of resigning’.

He added: ‘My remarks went against the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics and were inappropriate.

‘For that, I feel deep remorse and I would like to retract my remarks. I also want to apologise to the people I offended.’

Mori’s comments are an embarrassment for Games organisers with the majority of the Japanese public already against holding the rearranged event this summer given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Olympic rings are seen in Tokyo on Tuesday, only weeks before the postponed torch relay is due to begin – with the opening ceremony of the Games scheduled for July 23 

His remarks came during a JOC meeting when they discussed increasing the number of women on the board from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.

Mori reportedly said: ‘On boards with a lot of women, the meetings take so much time. 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.

‘If one person raises their hand, others probably think, ‘I need to say something too’. That’s why everyone speaks. You have to regulate speaking time to some extent, or else we would never finish.

‘We have about seven women at the organising committee but everyone understands their place.’

Despite apologising for his comments, Mori appeared to double down on his view when he added: ‘I don’t necessarily think that fretting over the number of women in high positions is what is important.’

In response, Hayley Wickenheiser, the Canadian four-time Olympic ice hockey champion and member of the International Olympic Committee’s athletes’ commission, hit out at an ‘old boys club’.

While UK charity Women in Sport tweeted: ‘This deep-rooted culture of discrimination and gender bias has to stop.’