Over 130,000 Sign Petition Against Mori's Remarks
More than 130,000 people have signed an online petition protesting the president of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee Mori Yoshiro for his remarks that can be regarded as sexist.
Three women in their 20s began the petition last Thursday after Mori said meetings that involve many women take too long. He later retracted the remarks and apologized.
The petition had been signed by more than 135,000 people as of 5 p.m. on Monday.
The organizers say the remarks show unacceptable prejudice and discrimination against women.
They urge the governments of Japan and Tokyo, the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee to consider what to do with Mori.
They also call for preventive measures and efforts to make women account for at least 40 percent of all organizations related to the Tokyo Games, in line with guidelines by the Sports Agency.
In a related move, 25 women have released a video expressing their views on the issue. The video has reportedly been viewed more than 70,000 times.
One of them says she has unwillingly tolerated gender inequality, surmising the atmosphere in some cases, and that she wants Mori's remarks to be an opportunity for Japanese society to think about the issue.
One of the petition organizers, Yamamoto Kazuna, urges the Games committee to face the matter sincerely, rather than dealing with it as a problem merely relating to an individual.
Yamamoto says she wants to turn this into an opportunity for people to understand that both men and women sometimes have to suppress their opinions at work, and to try to make it easier to speak up.