Ex-Tokyo Olympics chief again criticized for sexist comment
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who resigned last month as president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee over comments criticized as sexist, has made another remark getting that's slammed as disrespectful to women
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori who resigned last month as president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee over comments criticized as sexist, has made another remark that's getting slammed as disrespectful to women.
Mori, speaking late Friday at a party for a politician at a Tokyo hotel, referred to the politician’s aide as “way too old to be called a woman.”
He called her “obachan,” which means “old mama” in Japanese, and told the audience she was “astonishing.”
His remark was trending on Japanese online news and social media, with some expressing outrage Saturday.
“He is incurable,” Isoko Mochizuki, reporter for Tokyo Shimbun, lamented on Twitter “He has made yet another remark discriminatory toward women.”
Others said Mori had not repented and one said sarcastically he deserved a gold medal for sexism.
Mori stepped down in February after a fury of criticism over his widely reported remarks at a Japan Olympic Committee meeting that women “talk too much.”
Despite being one of the most developed economies in the world, Japan has consistently lagged in promoting women to positions of power, including board rooms, parliament and the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee.
Mori was replaced by Seiko Hashimoto, a woman, Olympian and speedskating bronze medalist. Women were also added to the organizing committee board, with less than four months to go before the Opening Ceremony.
The Games were postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Public opinion surveys show the Japanese public is opposed to holding the Olympics, but the government remains determined to go ahead. The Olympics torch relay began Thursday.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.