Tokyo pledges to bring women into 2020 committee

Tokyo pledges to bring women into 2020 committee

Published Feb. 9, 2014 6:51 a.m. ET

SOCHI, Russia (AP) Japanese organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics say they're looking to bring women into the fold.

Tokyo has come under scrutiny for forming a mostly older, male-only leadership team. The committee is headed by 76-year-old Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister.

Mori acknowledged the issue at a news conference Sunday in Sochi, saying, ''we will take care to have female members as well as young people'' when the executive board is expanded.

Mori initially declined to head the committee, citing his age, but reconsidered after no other suitable candidates from the business community volunteered.

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Mori also was asked why he and other Tokyo leaders don't speak English. He replied that he was a second grader when World War II ended and ''English was considered the enemy's language.''

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