The Tokyo Olympic Organising Committee is reportedly set to convene a special board meeting as early as this week after the outcry over its president Yoshiro Mori's sexist comments.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
There are no plans to discuss Mori's resignation at the meeting but he could face a barrage of criticism over his comments, Nikkan Sports reported.
Mori, 83, has come under fire for saying last week that meetings with female participants take a long time, basically implying they talk too much, driven by a "strong sense of rivalry".
He apologised and retracted his comments but the public's outrage appears far from assuaged.
After Mori's remarks, about 390 Games volunteers have quit and local organisers have received more than 4,500 complaints, according to the daily Chunichi Shimbun.
"We are taking this very seriously," Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto said on Tuesday when asked about the resignation of the volunteers.
Sponsors have also distanced themselves.
Nippon Life Insurance Company told the daily Asahi that they were "disappointed" with the remarks and have made that clear to the organising committee.
Hiroaki Nakanishi, chairman of the influential business lobby Keidanren, initially refrained from commenting but later said: "I feel that that's what some people are really thinking in Japan" and that "social media is terrifying" given how rapidly comments are shared and spread online.
When asked to clarify what he meant, Nakanishi said it was customary in Japan to differentiate between men and women but that thinking is outdated, according to TV Asahi.
But the comment was trending on social media by Monday morning, with people taking to Twitter express frustrations over Nakanishi's comments as well.
"He made a sweeping statement about Japan, but I think this is what the chairman himself is thinking. He's the same as president Mori in his inability to listen to his critics," said one Twitter user.
- Reuters