Equality advocate and seven-time Olympian Seiko Hashimoto named Tokyo Olympic president after sexism row. Rabeya Lima reports.
- Seiko Hashimoto appeared in seven Olympics — four Winter Olympics and three Summer Olympics. Hashimoto made even more history on Thursday in Japan, where women are still rare in the boardrooms and positions of political power.
- The 56-year-old politician Hashimoto, who was also a minister for gender equality and women’s empowerment, was named president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee after a meeting of its executive board, which is 80% male. “As the background to my selection, I understand that there is a gender-parity-related factor,” she said.
- Hashimoto will replace 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, who resigned after claiming that women speak too much in meetings, sparking an outcry in Japan and abroad.
- “Now I’m here to return what I owe as an athlete and to return back what I received, I will spare no effort for the success of the Tokyo Games,” Hashimoto said after being formally appointed. She pledged to work to “ensure that the public both domestically and abroad feels this is going to be a safe and secure Olympic Games.”
Japan-born Naomi Osaka, speaking about Hashimoto after her semifinal tennis victory over Serena Williams at the Australian Open, said:
“I feel like it’s really good because you’re pushing forward, barriers are being broken down, especially for females. We’ve had to fight for so many things just to be equal. Even a lot of things we still aren’t equal.”
