The head of the Tokyo Olympics' organizing committee is reportedly expected to resign after coming under fire for sexist comments.
Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori, who last week apologized for saying women talk too much during meetings, is set to step down, Japanese public broadcaster NHK is reporting, according to CNN.
Mori had been facing calls to resign after he said that "board of directors meetings with many women take a lot of time" because they talk too much and that "if we are going to have more women directors, someone has remarked, then meetings go on for a long time unless we restrict the comments." He subsequently apologized while saying he had no plans to resign.
"Regarding my remark yesterday, it was going against the mentality of the Olympics and Paralympics," he said at a news conference, per The Washington Post. "I would like to take back what I said, and apologize to those who were offended by my remarks. The Olympics and Paralympics represent the equality of both men and women, and I am thankful for the women athletes and staff."
But Reuters reports that when asked if he really thinks women talk too much, Mori said, "I don’t listen to women that much lately so I don't know." And the Post reported that during this news conference, he "showed no obvious signs of regret, and he smiled several times." According to The Associated Press, the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee executive board is set to meet Friday, when a decision is expected to be announced.