Sports News
Sakura Murakami
Elaine Lies
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese athlete-political politician Seiko Hashimoto has been elected chairman of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, replacing a man who resigned after sparking a furore with sexist remarks.
Hashimoto, who competed in seven Summer and Winter Olympics as a cyclist and skater, is now less than half a year ahead of the delayed start facing a series of difficult problems at steering one of the biggest sporting events in the world. .
She must ensure that athletes and officials are protected from the coronavirus, while also facing strong public opposition to the Games being held in the midst of the pandemic.
Hashimoto announced her choice shortly after submitting her resignation as Olympic Minister to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, which encouraged her to make the Games successful.
“As someone with an athletic background, I will run a Safe Games for both athletes and citizens,” she told a news conference.
She replaces Yoshiro Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister, who resigned as Tokyo 2020 president last week after saying women talk too much.
Her appointment was welcomed by the International Olympic Committee, which did not demand Mori’s resignation and initially considered the case closed after his first apology and refusal to resign.
“With her vast Olympic experience … and after leading Japan’s delegation to the Olympics several times, she is the perfect choice for this position,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement.
“Seiko Hashimoto can make use of her rich political experience as a minister and many other political functions. This will help deliver safe and successful Olympic and Paralympic Games. ”
Opinion polls have repeatedly shown that more than 80 percent of Japanese do not believe the Games should be held this year because of the pandemic – a concern Hashimoto has promised to address to ordinary citizens and athletes.
“I can imagine how difficult it is for athletes with so many questions whether they even have to aim for the Olympics and Paralympics in the midst of the pandemic,” she said.
A 56-year-old lawmaker in Japan’s ruling party, Hashimoto, has served as minister of the Olympics since 2019, and then served as minister of women’s empowerment until Thursday.
She was born days before Japan hosted the 1964 Summer Games, and her name comes from a Chinese character used for the Olympic flame. She accomplished this by participating in four Winter Olympics as a skater and three Summer Olympics as a cyclist.
However, Hashimoto has faced investigation over reports that she made unwanted progress with a sportsman during a party during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
A magazine at the time published photos of her popular ice skater Daisuke Takahashi. She then said that athletes regularly hug and kiss each other, and it regrets it if it caused any misunderstanding. Takahashi never filed any complaint.
She questioned Thursday about the incident after it was raised again on social media: “I regret my indifferent behavior.”
INTERNATIONAL OUTCOMES, EQUALITY
Mori resigned last Friday after causing an international uproar at a committee meeting, saying a driver in Tokyo 2020 caused ‘indescribable damage’ on Thursday.
He initially defied calls to retire, but growing anger over his remarks and a petition led by, among others, a 22-year-old student and activist, helped seal his fate in a country still struggling with gender equality. .
Japan ranks 121st out of 153 countries on the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Gap Index – the worst position gap among advanced countries – earning weak points for women’s economic participation and political empowerment.
Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka welcomed Mori’s resignation.
“I think for me, what that means is that there are a lot of things that I think people have used that have been said before, but you see, the newer generation does not tolerate a lot of things,” she told a news conference in Australia.