TOKYO: Japanese athlete-turned-politician Seiko Hashimoto has been chosen as president of the Tokyo 2020 Organising committee, replacing a man who resigned after setting off a furore with sexist remarks.

Hashimoto, who competed in seven Summer and Winter Olympics as a cyclist and a skater, now faces a raft of tough issues at the helm of one of the world’s biggest sporting events with less than half a year before its delayed start.

She must ensure athletes and officials are kept safe from the coronavirus, while also facing strong public opposition to the Games being held amid the pandemic.

Hashimoto announced her selection shortly after submitting her resignation as Olympics minister to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who encouraged her to make the Games successful.

“As someone with an athletic background, I will carry out a safe Games for both athletes and citizens,” she told a news conference.

She replaces Yoshiro Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister, who resigned as Tokyo 2020 president last week after saying women talk too much.

Opinion polls have repeatedly shown that more than 80 percent of Japanese do not believe the Games should be held this year due to the pandemic - a concern Hashimoto pledged to address for both ordinary citizens and athletes.

“I can imagine how tough it is for athletes with so many questions about whether they should even aim for the Olympics and Paralympics amid the pandemic,” she said.

A 56-year-old lawmaker in Japan’s ruling party, Hashimoto served as the Olympics minister, doubling as minister for women’s empowerment, since 2019 until resigning on Thursday.

She was born days before Japan hosted the 1964 summer Games and her name comes from a Chinese character used for the Olympic flame. She lived up to it by taking part in four Winter Olympics as a speed skater and three Summer Olympics as a cyclist.

However, Hashimoto has faced scrutiny over reports that she made unwanted advances to a sportsman at a party during the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.

Mori resigned last Friday after causing an international outcry by saying during a committee meeting that women talk too much, comments that a Tokyo 2020 executive said on Thursday had caused ‘indescribable damage’.

He initially defied calls to step down, but growing anger at his remarks and a petition drive led by a 22-year-old student and activist, among others, helped seal his fate in a nation still struggling with gender equality.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2021