Sports

Actions

Japan's Olympic chief expected to quit after sexist remarks

Yoshiro Mori
Posted at 2:28 PM, Feb 11, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-11 16:28:29-05

TOKYO — Yoshiro Mori is expected to step down as the president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee.

This follows his demeaning comments about women more than a week ago and an ensuing public debate in Japan about gender equality.

The 83-year-old Mori spoke in a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee and made comments against adding women to the Japanese Olympic Committee's board. He essentially saidwomen “talk too much," taking up too much time, and are driven by a “strong sense of rivalry.”

He gave a grudging apology a day after his opinions were reported widely, but declined to step down.

The International Olympic Committee initially said they considered the matter "closed" after Mori's apology. However, they laterissued a statementsaying his remarks were "absolutely inappropriate."

Some reports say Mori's resignation could come as soon as Friday when the organizing committee’s executive board meets.

The executive board is overwhelmingly male.