简体中文
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike speaks at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, January 15, 2021. /CFP
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike said on Friday the Olympic Games were facing a "major issue" after the head of the organizing committee made sexist remarks and as criticism of his comments showed no sign of abating.
"The mission of the metropolis and the organizing committee is to prepare for a safe and secure Games, and we are facing a major issue," Koike said.
She also said she'd heard the Tokyo government was fielding complaint calls from city residents.
"I myself was struck speechless by his comments, which should not have been made," Koike added.
TOGOC President Yoshiro Mori arrives at a news conference to apologize for his sexist remarks about women in Tokyo, Japan, February 4, 2021. /CFP
Yoshiro Mori, 83, is the president of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (TOGOC).
Mori set off a firestorm on social media both at home and abroad this week when he said that women talked too much in a meeting with the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC). He later retracted his remarks and apologized for them but refused to resign.
On Thursday, he apologized for saying women "have difficulty" speaking concisely, but then dug a deeper hole when he insisted he had heard complaints that women speak at length.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Thursday that Mori's apology had settled the issue, but criticism of Mori, a former Japanese prime minister, continued on Friday.
Yasuhiro Yamashita, head of the JOC, said Mori's comments went against the Olympic spirit and were inappropriate, Kyodo news agency reported.
"There are all kinds of criticism. I would hope that people grasp the fact that (preparation for) the Games must proceed with the understanding and cooperation of people around the world," Japan's top government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said at a news conference.
Kato said the government's understanding was that the IOC considered the matter closed.
Angry and frustrated Japanese athletes, activists and ordinary women see Mori's remarks as a clear signal that gender equality in Japanese sports, and society as a whole, remains a distant dream.
Yoshiro Mori, then prime minister of Japan, plays golf in Hakone, Japan, August 12, 2000. /CFP
A review of Yoshiro Mori's 'astonishing' remarks
Mori served as Japanese prime minister for just one year between April 2000 and 2001, a short term marked by controversy.
Soon after taking office he declared Japan "a country of gods centered around the emperor" – a highly controversial statement seen as potentially violating the country's constitution, which separates religion and politics.
As prime minister, Mori started with an approval rating of around 30 percent that slid downwards during his term, partly due to his repeated gaffes.
During an election campaign, he said he hoped swing voters who might not support his ruling Liberal Democratic Party would "sleep in on polling day."
His comments backfired and were seen as contributing to a decline in the number of seats won by the party in the lower house.
And he was widely criticized for his addiction into golf towards the end of his term.
On February 15, 2001, Mori remained on a golf course for two hours instead of returning immediately to his office after being informed that a U.S. submarine had sunk a Japanese vessel carrying 35 people in waters off Hawaii.
Since retiring from politics in 2012, Mori has been heavily involved in promoting sports in Japan and played a key role in bringing Asia's first Rugby World Cup to the country in 2019.
Yoshiro Mori wins the World Rugby's Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, November 25, 2018. /CFP
An avid rugby fan and amateur player himself, Mori served as chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Union for ten years until his term expired in 2015.
He subsequently served as honorary chairman of the organization but quit just months before the Rugby World Cup, citing health problems.
Mori has spoken publicly about his battle with cancer, even citing his health struggles as reason to be hopeful about the Games going ahead following their postponement in 2020.
"We have no choice but to have hope. I myself suffered cancer... But I was saved by a new drug," he said then.
"I am here, allowed to live... Let us hope for these things."
His remarks have not always been so tactful, and he drew fire during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics for pouring scorn on Japanese figure-skating heroine Mao Asada following a disastrous routine in Russia.
"That girl, she always falls over whenever it's important," Mori sniped amid widespread disappointment after Asada slipped on her trademark jump to end in lowly 16th position.
Mao Asada of Japan competes in the Japan Figure Skating Championships ladies' free skating event in Kadoma, Japan, December 25, 2016. /CFP
Media, fans and fellow athletes hit out at Mori after he said the out-of-form skater should have withdrawn from the team competition.
"She slipped over just like that. We knew Japan couldn't win (the competition)," he said. "She wouldn't have had to embarrass herself."
More recently, Mori raised eyebrows in 2020 when insisting he would work to stay free of coronavirus – but without wearing a mask.
The comments were slammed as out-of-touch and Mori subsequently began wearing one.
And on Tuesday, he caused an upset by declaring the delayed Games would go ahead this year "however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves."
His remarks came as it was revealed that
80 percent of Japanese
were opposed to holding the Games this year and parts of the country went into a state of emergency.
(With input from agencies)
Survey suggests 80% of Japanese want Tokyo Olympics cancelled or delayed
Vaccines are not mandatory, affirms newly-released Tokyo 2020 Playbook
