The president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee is stepping down amid scrutiny following sexist comments he made during a recent meeting.
Yoshiro Mori, 83, was planning to resign on Thursday, Japanese news outlets reported, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier this month, Mori reportedly said during an Olympics meeting that "women talk too much" and are motivated by a "strong sense of rivalry."
Mori, a former prime minister, held office from 2000-01.
He later "grudgingly" apologized for the ignorant remarks, the Associated Press reported, but initially declined to resign, despite sparking a "rare" public debate over gender equality in Japan, traditionally a patriarchal society. The organizing committee itself is overwhelming male, the report said.
The Tokyo Olympics, postponed last year because of the coronavirus crisis, are scheduled to open in late July. A recent poll found as much as 80 percent of the Japanese public favors canceling or postponing the games, the article said.