Seiko Hashimoto replaces Yoshiro Mori as president, who resigned last week after making sexual comments about women; The Tokyo Games – which are set to begin on July 23 – have already been hit with unprecedented delays of a year due to a coronavirus outbreak and strong public opposition
Last updated: 18/02/21 8:21 am
Seiko Hashimoto has been named the new President of the 2020 Tokyo organizing committee
Seiko Hashimoto of Japan, who has competed in seven Olympics, has been named as the new President of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee.
The 56-year-old had served as minister for the Olympics and Paralympics in the Japanese government.
She replaces 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, who retired last week after making sexual comments about women.
Hashimoto has competed in seven summer and winter Olympic Games as a track cyclist and speed scaler, winning a bronze medal at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games.
In a brief speech to the committee, she reiterated the importance of encouraging the public, in Japan and abroad, to deliver “safe and secure” Games.
The Games have already been killed with an unprecedented delay of a year due to a pandemic pandemic and strong public challenge.
Yoshiro Mori resigned as president last week after making sexual comments about women
Mori resigned last Friday after causing international unrest by saying at a committee meeting that women talk too much, saying the Tokyo 2020 chief executive on Thursday said they had “inevitable damage . “
He initially rejected calls to resign, but growing anger at his remarks and a petition campaign led by a 22-year-old student and activist, among others, helped seal what he grew up in even a country that was still struggling with gender equality.
Japan ranks 121 out of 153 countries on the World Economic Forum’s 2020 World Gender Gap Index – the worst gap among advanced countries – scoring poorly on women’s economic participation and political power.
Criteria for a new director for the organizing committee included a deep understanding of gender equality and diversity, and the ability to achieve those values at the Games, the organizers have said.