Japan Olympics minister Hashimoto preferred candidate to be new 2020 head, NHK says (updated)
17/02/2021 05:23
(Recasts throughout)
TOKYO, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Olympics Minister Seiko
Hashimoto has emerged as the preferred candidate to succeed
Yoshiro Mori as president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee
after he stepped down last week, public broadcaster NHK said.
Mori's recent resignation over sexist remarks is the latest
blow for the Summer Games, already been marred by an
unprecedented delay and strong public opposition in the face of
coronavirus fears. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KL01K
The panel will ask Hashimoto if she wishes to take the
position, NHK added.
"I am aware of the report, but the committee is an
independent body that makes its own decision," the government's
spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato, told a
regular news conference.
Earlier, NHK said the committee had narrowed its focus to
one candidate during two days of meetings.
Born days before Japan hosted the 1964 summer games,
Hashimoto is named after the Olympic flame and has lived up to
her name by taking part in seven of the Games, both winter and
summer, and in two sports.
A 56-year-old lawmaker of Japan's ruling party, Hashimoto
has served as the Olympics minister, doubling as minister for
women's empowerment since 2019.
At the committee's first meeting on Tuesday, it agreed on
five criteria for a new leader, such as a deep understanding of
gender equality and diversity and the ability to attain those
values during the Games, organisers said in a statement.
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2KM20E
Earlier on Wednesday, the Games faced another potential
setback, when the governor of the western prefecture of Shimane
said the Olympic torch relay should be reconsidered because of
the virus.
Governor Tatsuya Maruyama said he also opposed the holding
of the Olympics and worried about infections.
"Should the present conditions continue, I think holding the
Olympics should be avoided," he told a news conference.
The torch relay for the Tokyo Olympics is set to start in
northeastern Fukushima on March 25, before travelling through
all 47 prefectures in Japan over 121 days. Shimane will host it
on May 15 and 16.
The Games themselves are set to begin on July 23.
Organisers have vowed to go ahead with the Games despite the
pandemic, while opinion polls have persistently shown the
majority of Japanese oppose holding the event this year.
(Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus:
https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/)
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(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Sakura Murakami; Writing by
Elaine Lies; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence Fernandez)
((kaori.kaneko@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2733;))