Pretending to resign? Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee President apologizes for "degrading women" remarks

As the date approaches, the Tokyo Olympics in Japan continues to attract people's attention. In addition to the success or failure of the event, another incident has sparked heated discussion among Japanese people in recent days.

It is reported that Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, suggested limiting the speaking time of women at meetings on the grounds that "meetings with women present last too long." It is known that there are currently 25 members of the Japanese Olympic Committee Board of Directors, including 5 women.

The incident is still continuing to ferment. The Japanese people, especially young women, are very angry about the remarks and believe that hostility towards women still exists in Japan.

In response, Mori Yoshiro publicly apologized to the public and admitted that his remarks were contrary to the Olympic spirit, but he refused to resign. According to Japanese media reports, Mori Yoshiro said in an interview, "I had originally decided to resign as chairman, but under the persuasion of Toshiro Muto, CEO of the Olympic Committee, I finally decided to stay on."

In addition, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike commented on Mori Yoshiro's remarks on February 5, saying that "it is speechless and should never have happened." She said, "It is the task of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Olympic Committee to safely promote the event, but we are now facing a serious situation." Mori Yoshiro's remarks made people who already hoped that the Tokyo Olympics would be canceled or postponed again even more disgusted with the Olympics.

It is reported that due to the continued spread of the new coronavirus , the Olympic Games originally scheduled for last year were postponed for one year, but more and more people are skeptical about holding the Tokyo Olympics this summer . People are worried that holding the Olympics may cause world-class clustered infections.

According to the latest opinion poll conducted by NHK, about 80% of Japanese people believe that the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed or canceled . When people speculated that the Olympics might be canceled, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC), still said on February 3 that although there are still strong voices worried about the further spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, the possibility of the Tokyo Olympics being held as scheduled will be "100%," denying the rumors of cancellation.

Regardless of whether the Olympics can ultimately be successfully held, the Japanese government should make their preparations and related decisions public to enhance people's trust in the government.

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