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Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigns over ‘chaos’ caused by sexist remarks
- A selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women would choose Mori’s successor
- Mori, 83, sparked a global outcry with sexist comments that women talk too much, which he made during an Olympic committee meeting
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Tokyo 2020 Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned on Friday and apologised again for sexist remarks that sparked a global outcry, leaving the troubled Olympics searching for a chief five months from the opening ceremony.
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The resignation of former prime minister Mori, 83, will further erode confidence in the organisers’ ability to pull off the postponed Summer Games during a coronavirus pandemic.
A selection committee made up of an equal number of men and women, and centred around athletes, would choose a new president, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto told a news conference after a meeting of a board of advisers.
He did not say when the decision would be made but said it have to be made quickly and the candidate should have Olympic experience and understand things like diversity and inclusion.
Among the possible candidates was Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto, media said.
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Hashimoto, 56, is a seven-time Olympian and pioneering female lawmaker. Her first name is based on the Japanese words for the Olympic flame and she was born just days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics opened.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the selection process should be based on rules and transparency.
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