TOKYO (AP) – Yoshiro Mori’s long saga seems to be nearing its end.
Japan’s Kyodo news agency and others reported on Thursday – citing unnamed sources – that Yoshiro Mori will step down as chairman of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee on Friday.
The movement follows its sexist comments on women more than a week ago and a frequent and rare public debate in Japan on gender equality,
A decision is expected to be announced on Friday when the organizing committee’s executive committee meets. The Tokyo 2020 executive board is an overwhelming man, as is the day-to-day leadership.
Mori, 83, at a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee more than a week ago, said essentially that women “talk too much” and move with a “strong sense of rivalry.” Mori, a former prime minister, apologized a few days after his views were announced, but rejected the resignation.
This is more than just another problem for the postponed Olympics, which have made the risky choice of trying to open on July 23 amid a pandemic with 11,000 athletes and later 4,400 Paralympic athletes.
More than 80% of the Japanese public in the latest polls say the Olympics should be postponed or canceled.
Mori’s statements have sparked outrage in many areas and highlighted the extent to which Japan lags behind other prosperous countries in promoting women in politics or boardrooms. Japan ranks 121st out of 153 in the World Economic Forum’s gender equality ranking.
Although some on the street have called for his resignation (several hundred Olympic volunteers say they are retiring), most decision makers have stopped and simply condemned his statements. Japan is a country that works largely in consensus with politicians (often big men and men) acting behind the scenes and filtering test balloons to feel public sentiment.
Here are samples of comments and observations on what has been developing as the pressure on Mori has increased.
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AKIO TOYODA, President of Toyota Motor Corp.
Toyota is one of 14 so-called TOP Olympic sponsors who pay about $ 1 billion each four-year Olympic cycle to the International Olympic Committee. The company rarely talks about politics, but this week President Akio Toyoda said, “The comment (Mori) is different from our values and we find it unfortunate.” Toyota and Coca-Cola are also the main sponsors of the torch relay, which will be on March 25th. Toyota has not called for Mori’s resignation. but his comments have received much attention.
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YURIKO KOIKE, governor of the Tokyo metropolitan government
Koike described Mori’s comments as a “major problem” for the Olympics. She is one of the few powerful women in Japan and has worked closely at the Olympics. He said he will skip an Olympic meeting next week with IOC President Thomas Bach, Mori and the national government. “I don’t think holding conversations in the current circumstances produces a positive message,” he said. “I will not attend the meeting.”
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KOICHI NAKANO, political scientist at Sophia University in Tokyo
‘Koike, as a natural populist, smells of political gains by making use of her position as a prominent political woman. Koike is not a feminist, but she knows that being a woman in a very conservative, male-dominated Japan can be an advantage for her. By refusing to attend the meeting, he may indicate that he is more in touch with the widely shared feeling in Japanese society that Mori should resign. “
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THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The IOC accepted Mori’s apologies and said the case was closed. He then waited almost a week to issue a more forceful statement and said his statements were “absolutely inappropriate”. He noted that the local organizing committee also considered the statements to be “inappropriate”. The IOC has not publicly called for Mori’s resignation. Most of his statement about Mori focused on how he says he has improved gender equality at the Olympics over the past 25 years.
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MIZUHO FUKUSHIMA, leader of the Social Democratic Party
Opposition leaders have urged Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to persuade Mori to step down. There are unconfirmed reports in Japan that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could replace Mori. Mori got his job in 2014, when Abe was prime minister.
“We need to tell the world that Japan is a country committed to creating an equally gendered society,” Fukushima said. “He (Mori) has to give up.”
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AP writers Yuri Kageyama and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.
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