Report: Tokyo 2020 Chief Blamed Women for Long Meetings, Claimed They “Have Difficulty” with Brevity

President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee Yoshiro Mori reacts as he attends a news
ISSEI KATO/POOL/AFP via Getty

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games chief was drawn into a sexism row Wednesday after it was reported he said women made meetings drag on for too long because they “have difficulty” speaking concisely.

Yoshiro Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister known for public gaffes, allegedly told members of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) “board of directors meetings with many women take a lot of time”, according to the Asahi Shimbun daily.

“When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn’t restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying,” he said, as some members of the council reportedly laughed.

He then went on to compund his observation.

“Women are competitive,” Mori reportedly added. “When one person raises a hand, others think they need to speak up as well. That’s why everyone speaks.”

Tokyo 2020 did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks as reported by the Asahi Shimbun.

On Tuesday, Mori said the Games would go ahead “however the coronavirus (pandemic) evolves,” as Breitbart News reported.

“We should pass on the discussion of whether we will hold the games or not, but instead discuss how we should hold it,” was Mori’s message for fellow members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

AFP contributed to this report

Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.