TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2021) The remarks of the president of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee, ex-Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, about women are not in line with the spirit of the Olympic movement, incumbent Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Friday.
The row broke out at a meeting of the National Olympic Committee on Wednesday, which discussed changes that should increase the share of women on the board of directors to 40 percent. Mori remarked that board meetings involving many women take much longer. As an example, he cited board meetings of the Japan Rugby Football Union. The politician linked it to a high competitive spirit among women, who allegedly feel necessary to get a word in if one of them has spoken out on some issue. The remarks deemed to be sexist have provoked a huge backlash, prompting the 83-year-old politician to apologize for his remarks.
"They [the remarks] are not in line with the important Olympic principle of the joint participation of women and men," Suga said, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.
The prime minister pointed out that the criticism of Mori should not turn into criticism of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The Olympic Games in Tokyo were initially to be held in 2020 but postponed to July-August 2021 over the COVID-19 pandemic.
