Photo/Illutration Yoshiro Mori, the head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, apologizes for his sexist remarks during a Feb. 4 news conference. (Pool)

Yoshiro Mori will resign as head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee following a week of widespread criticism over his sexist remarks, several sources said on Feb. 11.

Although Mori initially said he would remain at the post, calls for his resignation showed no signs of abating, and outrage over his comments spread overseas and among Olympic sponsors.

Insiders said his resignation could further damage the chances that the Tokyo Games can be held this summer.

A former prime minister, Mori, 83, caused the uproar when he said on Feb. 3 at a Japan Olympic Committee Council meeting that having more women on sporting association committees would lead to longer meetings because of their competitiveness and need to have their voices heard.

Although he apologized and retracted his comment the following day, he rejected calls to step down. That decision only fueled the criticism against him.

The sources said Feb. 11 that Mori told them that he would resign from the post.

A likely successor is Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, a former president of the Japan Football Association and Japan Basketball Association. Kawabuchi is in charge of the Athletes’ Village for the Tokyo Olympics.

Kawabuchi met with reporters on Feb. 11 and revealed that Mori had asked him to take over when the two met for about an hour earlier in the day.

“I will do my best in taking on what will be the last major role for me,” Kawabuchi told reporters.

Mori’s sexist remarks came at a time when doubts were rising on whether the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, already postponed from last year, could be held this summer amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Many pointed out that Mori’s comments violated the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic movement, as well as the Olympic Charter, which is clearly opposed to any form of discrimination based on race, gender or religion.

Mori did not help his cause by showing frustration at reporters who repeatedly asked him during the Feb. 4 news conference if he would step down.

Hundreds of Olympic volunteers later withdrew their intent to help out at the Games. The Tokyo metropolitan government said it was flooded with emails and phone calls protesting Mori’s remarks.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Feb. 8 that the comments by Mori did not help Japan’s interests.

The International Olympic Committee also released a statement the following day describing Mori’s comments as “absolutely inappropriate.”

Mori, however, did have some defenders who wanted him to remain at the post.

One senior official of the organizing committee said no one can replace Mori as its chief, given his extensive connections at home and abroad.

“Mori is the only person who can carry weight with the IOC in addition to the political, business and sports communities in Japan,” the official said. “If he is gone, much of the momentum for holding the Tokyo Olympics will be lost.”

Another senior committee official said, “I am worried whether we will be able to open the Games.”

Opinion polls by news outlets show about 80 percent of people in Japan are opposed to holding the Olympics this summer.

Mori, who was involved in Tokyo’s campaign to host the 2020 Olympics, has served as president of the organizing committee since it was established in 2014.

He has won trust from IOC President Thomas Bach and John Coates, chairman of the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Olympics.

However, Coates told Mori on Feb. 8 that his remarks about women have provoked strong reactions from Olympic sponsors, according to sources.

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