TOKYO – Seiko Hashimoto is an alien to the Olympics, having competed in seven of the games as a speed scorer and cyclist, more than any other woman in Japan.
After decades as a game in Japanese sports and political circles, both traditionally male-dominated, she is now taking on a new challenge as head of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee.
But with only months to go, her challenges are enormous. The committee is opposed to coronavirus headaches and sexual comments by former Yoshiro Mori, who resigned following comments that women “talk too much” in meetings are outraged across the globe. Her connection to Mori is likely to come under scrutiny.
Many said she was “born to compete in the Olympics” when she was an athlete. She was the first ever Japanese athlete to participate in summer and winter games. After becoming a senior member, she continued to train, participating in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Until her appointment as committee leader, she had served as cabinet minister in charge. Tokyo Games from 2019.
In addition to leading Japanese skating and cycling alliances, Hashimoto led the Japanese delegation to several Olympic Games and was head of athlete training for the Japan Olympic Committee.
“She’s a leader who respects the opinions on the ground and can think about how athletes and coaches feel,” one JOC source said.
Her passion for fellow athletes was revealed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when one snowboard pulled out of her clothes and unbridled ideas. Hashimoto maintained that he was competing despite criticism, offering to take “full responsibility” for the athlete.
During her time as head of the Japan Skating Federation, she created an athletes ’commission designed to ensure that athletes contribute to the organization. Since then the JOC and other sports organizations have launched a similar framework.
“She’s more of an audience than a kind of top-down leader,” said one source from Japanese sports circles.
When Japan failed to win one medal in speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, it appointed a new non-controversial training coordinator with no previous competitive or coaching experience. She also shifted the focus to the national team from corporate teams regarding the complaint. This movement paid off in spades, with Japan winning three gold, two silver and one bronze medals at the Pyeongchang Olympics four years later.
Hashimoto participated in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics as a cyclist, and was the first Japanese to participate in the Summer and Winter Olympics. © Kyodo
“She’s thoughtful, and she has no enemies,” another sports source said. That reputation has continued into her now 20-year political career.
In 2016, Hashimoto became the first woman to chair the general assembly for the Liberal Democrats ’top housing lawyers. She harnessed her collaborative skills to lead about 120 members of the group, belonging to different divisions within the party, in close partnership with the secretary-general of the assembly.
She also pointed out that Japanese lawyers do not have parental leave when she had a child as a member of a sitting high house in 2000.
However, some have raised concerns about her close association with Mori. She decided to enter the world of politics at Mori’s will, which led her as secretary-general of the LDP to make her run for the high house.
In 2019, after Hashimoto was appointed Olympic minister, Mori said he thinks of her “as a girl” at one event.
“This is my father,” Hashimoto replied curtly.
Hashimoto named Mori a “political adviser” and a “key figure” at a news conference on Thursday. “There will be situations where I need his advice,” she said.
“She may seek Mori’s advice on decisions,” said one LDP official. While this means Hashimoto will have access to Mout and clout connections, it is not clear how the community could get between -national dynamics.
Past allegations that Hashimoto kissed a male athlete strongly have added to the controversy as well.
The Tokyo Olympics are asked to start in less than six months. With very little time to spare, Hashimoto has a difficult job proving that his leadership abilities extend beyond enabling collaboration.
“Her ability to analyze difficult conversations and decisions remains unproven,” said one critic.