Tokyo Olympics Chief Says Women Talk Too Much in Meetings

(Bloomberg) -- The head of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee said he might have to resign after his comments that women talk too much in meetings sparked broad criticism.

Yoshiro Mori, 83, made the remarks Wednesday in response to plans to double the proportion of women on the board of the Japanese Olympic Committee to 40% from 20%.

“If you increase the number of women, you have to some extent limit the time for their remarks, otherwise you’ll run into trouble because it will never end,” he said.

The comments touched off a firestorm, with hashtags including “Mori’s gaffe,” “Mori resign” and “women who don’t know their place,” all trending on Twitter in Japan on Thursday morning. The controversy is the latest headache for the organizers of the 2020 games, which were delayed to August 2021 amid the pandemic. A survey this month showing only 16% of Japanese think it should be held this summer.

In comments livestreamed to the media, Mori added that he had found that Japan Rugby Football Union board meetings took twice as long after the number of women participants was increased. Women are highly competitive and if one speaks, then others also feel they must do so, said Mori.

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He later apologized to domestic media for what he said were careless remarks. He told the Mainichi newspaper that he had not meant to show disrespect for women, but that simply increasing the number of women was questionable. Mori added that he would have to step down if there were strong calls for him to do so, the paper said.

A former prime minister, Mori is known for his frequent gaffes. He was one of the least popular prime ministers in modern Japanese history, leaving office after a little more than a year in the post, with an approval rating in the single digits.

Japan’s political institutions are among the most male-dominated in the world. The country ranks 166th out of 200 on female representation in parliament according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, far below Pakistan and Libya.

In response to the comments, Olympic judo medalist turned sports academic Noriko Mizoguchi urged Mori to use his position to eliminate gender bias.

Mori’s remarks came as the organizers published a playbook about how they plan to stage the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games this summer amid the pandemic.

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