Sexism sparks drama for Tokyo 2020

During an effort by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to promote inclusion, diversity and gender equality, the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are facing a reality that their country may not yet hold similar views.

The following is a summary of the comments by Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee chief Yoshiro Mori that sparked a sexism outcry and mounting calls for him to step down. Mori made these statements during a Japanese Olympic Committee meeting on February 3:

• The education ministry has been making a racket about choosing females directors, but board meetings involving many women take a long time.

• The Japan Rugby Football Union spends twice as long in meetings as before. Women have a strong sense of rivalry. When one of them raises her hand to speak, another thinks she also has to have her say. So everyone ends up saying something.

• Someone was saying that if we increase the number of women on the board, we need to also make sure that speaking time is restricted to some extent, or a meeting will tend to drag on and it becomes a problem.

• We have around seven women on the 35-member board of the organizing committee, but they understand their place. They are all from sports bodies, and almost all have been on the international stage, so their remarks are to the point and extremely useful for us.

As the IOC seeks to distance themselves from Mori in this statement, it is being widely reported the 83-year old-Mori will resign and be replaced by 84-year-old Saburo Kawabuchi, a former president of the Japanese soccer association.

Tokyo Olympic Sailing Program
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s Skiff – 49erFx
Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy – Finn
Men’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Women’s Windsurfing – RS:X
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17

Original dates: July 24 to August 9, 2020
Revised dates: July 23 to August 8, 2021