Latest - Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics will hold a gathering of executive board members later this week, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee said.
Yoshiro Mori. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Organisers of the Tokyo Olympics will hold a gathering of executive board members later this week, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee said.
The meeting on Friday is for the members to express their opinions on comments by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori that women talk too much, remarks that attracted widespread criticism and calls for Mori's resignation.
Mori apologised and retracted his comments, but the public outcry over them continues.
Despite the condemnation, the 83-year-old former prime minister in Japan remains insulated within the organisation he leads, sources told Reuters, with officials fearing that his resignation would imperil the Tokyo Games.
Executive board members will also discuss gender equality initiatives at Friday's gathering.
- Reuters
Toyota president disappointed by Tokyo 2020 chief Mori's comments
The head of the world's largest automaker joined other high-profile Tokyo Olympics sponsors in publicly criticising the head of the country's Games committee for making sexist remarks.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics President Yoshiro Mori has incited anger at home and abroad with remarks last week that women talk too much, causing meetings to drag on.
He has apologised but refused to resign.
"We are disappointed by the recent comments from the President of TOCOG (Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games), which are contrary to the values that Toyota respects and supports," Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda said.
Toyota became a top level Olympic partner because it shared the values with "the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which through sports aim to create a peaceful and an inclusive society without discrimination in which anyone can participate," he said in remarks read out by an executive at the company's earnings briefing.
The Tokyo Olympics, delayed from last year by the coronavirus, are due to begin in July. For officials, the Mori controversy adds to a long list of hurdles facing the event.
Other Olympic sponsors have also expressed their views, including Asahi Holdings, the holding company of beer maker Asahi Breweries, which said it believed Mori's comments were "disappointing and inappropriate considering the spirit of gender equality espoused" by the Games.
An executive of Eneos, Japan's oil and metals company, said the company "deplored the sexist remarks from a viewpoint of respect for human rights".
- Reuters
Actors Reynolds, McElhenney complete Wrexham takeover
Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have completed the takeover of Welsh team Wrexham, the fifth-tier club have confirmed.
Canadian Reynolds, famed for starring in superhero comedy "Deadpool", and American actor McElhenney, creator and star of sitcom, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", first expressed interest in investing in the club in September.
In November, the club's supporters trust (WST), which owns the club, voted in favour of the move.
"We can now pursue our goal to grow the team and return it to the English Football League (EFL) in front of increased attendances, and in an improved stadium, while making a positive difference to the wider community in Wrexham," Reynolds and McElhenney said in a joint statement https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/statement-rob-mcelhenney-and-ryan-reynolds-officially-confirmed-as-wrexham-afc-owners.
Wrexham were relegated from the EFL in 2008 and are currently seventh in the National League, one division below the EFL's League Two.
Wrexham, who have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals three times but have never competed in the top-flight of English soccer, were founded in 1864 and have been owned by their fans since 2011.
- Reuters
Instagram to combat online abuse
The UK government has welcomed new measures introduced by Instagram to tackle online abuse in the wake of racist messages aimed at football players, but called for more action to be taken to stamp out the problem.
A host of players, including Manchester United trio Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Chelsea's Reece James, West Bromwich Albion's Romaine Sawyers and Southampton's Alex Jankewitz have been victims of online abuse in recent weeks.
The Football Association (FA) on Sunday urged the government and social media companies to act quickly in the fight against online racist abuse.
Instagram on Thursday announced a series of measures to tackle online abuse, including removing accounts of people who send abusive messages, and developing new controls to help reduce the abuse people see.
"For too long the world's most popular and powerful social media companies have failed to tackle the stream of horrific racist attacks on their platforms," Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) secretary Oliver Dowden said.
"I welcome Instagram's improved policies but racist abuse is still a fact of life for too many people and more has to be done across the board to stamp it out."
Dowden said a new 'Online Safety Bill' was being prepared to hold social media companies accountable, with firms set to face huge fines if they fail to protect users.
Instagram said it remained committed in the fight against racism.
- Reuters