TOKYO: Criticism mounted Friday over sexist remarks made by Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori, who has refused to step down and justified his comments by explaining he doesn’t “speak to women much.”

Mori, 83, has apologised for claiming women speak too much in meetings, and the International Olympic Committee says it now considers the matter “closed.”

But in Tokyo, the controversy continues to rage, with the city’s governor saying she was left “speechless” by the remarks and Japan’s Olympic Committee chief saying they violated the spirit of the Games.

Olympic medallists, Japanese sports officials and local volunteers have also lined up to lambast the gaffe-prone former prime minister’s comments.

“I was speechless. The remark was something that shouldn’t have been said,” Kyodo news agency quoted Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike as saying.

“The mission of the city and the organising committee is to prepare for a safe and secure Games, and we are facing a major issue,” added Koike, one of Japan’s few prominent female politicians.

JOC chief Yasuhiro Yamashita said the comments were “inappropriate” and “against the spirit of Olympics and Paralympics”, but added that he was not calling for Mori’s resignation, local media said.

Mori said Thursday he wanted to retract the comments, but athletes were among those who said his apology fell short.

“It’s meaningless to withdraw words that have already been said,” tweeted footballer Shiho Shimoyamada, Japan’s first openly gay professional athlete.

“The same thing will happen again unless you admit your prejudice and take measures to do something about it,” she wrote.

And swimmer Satomi Suzuki, who won two silver medals and one bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, said the remarks had left her “angry.”

International athletes took aim too, including former Canadian ice hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser — a six-time Olympian and a member of the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission.

“Definitely going to corner this guy at the breakfast buffet,” she tweeted. “See ya in Tokyo!! #oldboysclub”

Local media said Tokyo’s city government received a slew of complaints from volunteers hoping to take part in this summer’s Games.

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper quoted one 54-year-old volunteer as saying he was now considering quitting, explaining “it just feels like he’s passing the buck and not taking responsibility.”

Mori began his press conference on Thursday by apologising and saying he wished to retract his remarks, but then became defensive when questioned, insisting he had heard complaints that women speak at length.

“I hear those things often,” he insisted.

“I don’t speak to women much recently, so I wouldn’t know.”

Despite the uproar, the IOC said Thursday that with Mori’s apology it “considers the issue closed.”
The row is the latest headache for organisers already battling public disquiet about the Games, with polls showing more than 80 percent of Japanese oppose holding the event this summer.

Mori, who has a history of controversial remarks, had already made waves earlier this week by insisting the Games would go ahead this summer “however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves.”

While ranking high on a range of international indicators, Japan persistently trails on promoting gender equality — ranking 121 out of 153 nations surveyed in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 global gender gap report.

Human Rights Watch, which has called for Japan to improve attitudes towards women, criticised Mori’s remarks in a statement entitled “a gold medal for sexism in Japan.”

“Mori’s comments show the Japanese government urgently needs to reform its attitudes towards women, and a good place to start would be in sports,” the group said in a statement issued Thursday.

AFP