Yesterday afternoon, the Tokyo Organising Committee announced that the 56-year-old Japanese Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto would succeed Yoshiro Mori, who resigned, as the new president. The Tokyo Olympics scandal over discrimination against women was eventually quelled by a woman.
Photo: Hashimoto Seiko takes over as Chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee Xinhua News Agency
Last week, Yoshiro Mori, who has been president of the Tokyo Organising Committee since its founding in January 2014, was forced to resign because of discriminatory remarks against women, and his recommended successor, the village chief of the Tokyo Olympic Village and former president of the Japan Football Association, Saburo Kawabuchi, was not supported enough to announce his resignation. Subsequently, the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee established an eight-member election committee with equal proportions of men and women to select Yoshiro Mori's successor. Despite media disclosures of multiple candidates, the Election Commission finally determined that the current Japanese Olympic Minister, Seiko Hashimoto, was the sole candidate for the new chairmanship of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee.
The 56-year-old Hashimoto is a former speed skater and cyclist who has competed in four Winter Olympics and three Summer Olympics, making her the most Japanese female athlete. After the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Hashimoto retired and then led the team to participate in several Olympic Games as the head of the Japanese delegation, making her the first female Olympic team leader in Japanese history. Hashimoto also served as vice president of the Japan Olympic Committee and became Japan's Olympic minister in 2019. According to Japanese media analysis, to calm down the storm caused by discrimination against women, Hashimoto's gender and rich Olympic experience are the most suitable choice. She herself accepted the Opinion of the Electoral Commission. Yesterday afternoon, the Tokyo Organising Committee held a board of directors to announce the appointment of Hashimoto Ascento as the new President.
Photo: Hashimoto Seiko speaks at the tenth meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Tokyo Olympic Games of the International Olympic Committee Xinhua News Agency
Upon hearing the news, the International Olympic Committee immediately issued a statement warmly welcoming Hashimoto Seiko to take over as President of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee. IOC President Bach said Hashimoto has extensive experience in the Olympic field and is the ideal candidate for the position as an athlete and official who has participated in many Olympic Games. Bach also stressed that by appointing a woman as president, the Tokyo Organising Committee has sent an important signal about gender equality, which is one of the themes discussed by the IOC in its Olympic Agenda 2020 reform plan.
Strong-willed and strong-spirited, Seiko Hashimoto has always been a staunch supporter of the Tokyo Olympics. When Japan was hit by the second wave of the epidemic last year, the outside world was not optimistic about the prospects of hosting the Tokyo Olympic Games, and even Yoshiro Mori, who was then the chairman of the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee, said some ambiguous words, but Hashimoto publicly stated that he would "host the Olympic Games at all costs." With five months to go before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, Hashimoto is faced with the task of regaining public confidence as soon as possible, in addition to the complicated preparations. According to the latest public opinion survey, more than 80% of the people in Japan believe that the Tokyo Olympics "should be postponed again" and "should be suspended". Yoshiro Mori's inappropriate remarks and resignation have made the Tokyo Olympics, whose popularity is declining, even worse. Fortunately, a month after the implementation of the "emergency", the increase in the number of confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia in Japan has declined, and the vaccination plan for all citizens has been launched, which provides an important guarantee for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be held on time in July. (Chief reporter of Xinmin Evening News, Jin Lei)