We demand Mori Yoshiro resign as head of Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee

Kurosawa Koichi
Secretary General
National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren)
February 4, 2021

We lodge a strong protest about Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee President Mori Yoshiro’s remarks despising women. He made the outrageous remarks at a meeting of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC)’s extraordinary meeting on February 3, that meetings attended by too many women tended to “drag on” because they talked too much. The remarks are clearly in contravention of the Olympic spirit. We demand his immediate resignation.

Mori made the remarks in question while the JOC board members were discussing a plan to increase the number of women among board members. He reportedly said, “Women have a strong sense of rivalry. If someone raises his or her hand to speak, women members might be urged to speak out. As a result, all women members speak.” He also reportedly said that women should behave appropriately. This is unconscionable as it is tantamount to despising women who speak up and express their opinions and to asking women to shut up.

There are only five women among the 25 JOC board members.

Note that efforts towards gender equality are under way throughout the world, aiming to secure diversity and achieve 50-50 parity. Mori’s gaffe has shown that Japan falls behind the global efforts and laid bare the reality of contempt toward women and discrimination against them discouraging women from playing a greater role in Japanese society. The Mori remarks reportedly raised a laugh among JOC board members. Now is the time to eradicate the deep-rooted discrimination against women and human rights violations.

The Olympic Charter states: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.” It also makes clear that “[T]he enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” People in the world do not condone the Mori remarks which contravenes the Olympic spirit.

We demand that Mori immediately resign as president of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee to take responsibility for the remarks.