Female Olympian takes the helm at Tokyo games after sexism row

The new president of the Tokyo Olympics will be Seiko Hashimoto, a 56-year-old government minister and former Olympian, as Japan struggles to overcome a sexism row and deliver the games this summer.

Hashimoto was chosen to replace Yoshiro Mori, the 83-year-old former prime minister who resigned after his remarks about women caused an international backlash, and takes office with just 155 days to go until the opening ceremony.

The selection of a woman and an Olympian to lead the games is intended to reignite waning public enthusiasm, while the choice of a government minister signals Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s determination to ensure the games go ahead.

Hashimoto takes over with Tokyo 2020 in crisis and crucial decisions imminent, such as whether to allow spectators at the games. About 80 per cent of the Japanese public believe the Olympics should either be cancelled or delayed again because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The governor of Shimane prefecture this week became the first senior Japanese politician to call for the cancellation of the games, which were already postponed by a year from 2020, saying he did not want the torch relay to pass through his region.

“With resolution in my heart I’ll give everything to make this a success,” said Hashimoto on Thursday. “In terms of the gender equality issue that led to me undertaking this job, we will quickly hammer out a framework and show results by the end of the month.”

Mori quit last week after widespread condemnation of his complaints that women talk too much and make committee meetings last twice as long. He originally planned to hand the job over to 84-year-old Saburo Kawabuchi, a former head of the Japan Football Association, but the backroom deal prompted renewed public complaints.

Instead, a selection panel was hastily convened, and homed in on Hashimoto — one of only two female members of Japan’s cabinet. Hashimoto will step down as Olympics minister and be replaced by Tamayo Marukawa, giving the games an all-female leadership.

Born five days before the start of the first Tokyo Olympics in 1964, Hashimoto’s father named her after the Olympic flame and encouraged her to become an athlete.

She represented Japan at seven consecutive summer and winter Olympics from Sarajevo 1984 until Atlanta 1996, competing in speed skating and track cycling. Her best result was a bronze medal in the 1,500m speed skating at Albertville in 1992.

She entered politics in 1995 and has won re-election to the upper house five times on the ruling Liberal Democratic party’s proportional representation list. Regarded as a conservative, she is a member of the LDP faction that used to be led by Mori.