The president of Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee, Yosiro Mori, on Thursday apologised for the “inappropriate” comments he made a day earlier saying women talk too much during meetings, but clarified he was in no mood to resign over the resultant outrage.
The controversy surrounding Mori, a former prime minister, when his comments came to be viewed as sexist, is another headwind for this summer’s games which were already delayed owing to Covid pandemic and face public pressure to postpone it further or total cancel them.
The expression I used ran counter to the spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics. It was inappropriate," Mori, 83, said at a hastily called press conference. "I would like to retract the remarks and apologize to anyone I have offended."
He continued, "I have no intention of stepping down. I have worked hard and given a lot the past seven years, and don't feel I need to (resign)."
Mori had on Wednesday opposed the Japanese Olympics Committee’s(JOC) push for gender diversity on its Board saying, women have “a strong sense of rivalry” and that when one female member raises her hand to speak, “everyone ends up saying something.’
The comments came in a JOC meeting held online and open to the media.
