Tokyo 2020 chief called to resign after saying women talk too much at meetings

The head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee has apologized for making sexist remarks about women after he was called to resign.

However, Yoshiro Mori, 83, made it clear that he has no intentions of resigning in the wake of the backlash.

Mori, who served as Prime Minister of Japan between April 2000 and April 2001, said in a meeting with the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) that when there are too many women in board meetings.

He then claimed that meetings tend to get “drawn out” as women talk too much, as reported in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

Credit: PA

Reflecting back to the time he served as chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Union, Mori stated that women are “competitive”. He said that "when one woman raises her hand to speak, all the others feel the need to speak, as well".

"I was told that if the JOC plans to increase female members of the executive boards, meetings will be drawn out unless the time allotted for each speaker is limited to some extent,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “I will not say who said so.

“The organizing committee includes about seven women, but they all know how to behave."

Apologizing at a press conference on Thursday, Mori said he was “deeply remorseful” and that his remarks were “inappropriate” as well as contradictory to the spirit of the Olympics.

Despite calls for his resignation, he added: “I am not thinking of resigning. I have been working hard and devoted myself to helping [the Tokyo Olympics] for seven years. I will not be stepping down.”

Per the Guardian, in response to a question about why he felt his female counterparts talked too much at meetings, he reportedly said: “I don’t talk to women that much these days, so I don’t know.”

Needless to say, a number of public figures in Japan had a lot to say about his “unfortunate” remarks.

“His comments run counter to the spirit of Olympics that denounces discrimination and calls for friendship, solidarity, and fairness,” Renho, a Japanese politician, is reported to have said.

Mori has expressed his apologies for his “careless” comments in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun. However, he maintained that it was not his intention to belittle women.