Tokyo Olympic head says meetings with women "drag on"

Feb 04, 2021 | News On Japan

Feb 04, 2021 (Kyodo) - The head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee on Wednesday said that meetings with many women tend to "drag on" for longer than necessary.

"The education ministry has been very insistent about choosing female directors. But a board meeting with plenty of women will make it drag on," Yoshiro Mori said, referring to the Japanese Olympic Committee's plan to increase the number of women on its board.

Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of JOC councilors, the 83-year-old cited his experience as a former chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Union, saying, "Women have a strong sense of rivalry. If one (female) member raises her hand to speak, all the others feel the need to speak too. Everyone ends up saying something."

The JOC has set a goal of increasing the number of women on its board of directors to 40 percent. Women currently comprise only 20 percent of members.

"Somebody told me that if we increase the number of women (on the board), we have to also restrict their speaking time to an extent. Otherwise they'll never stop, which is problematic," Mori said.

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