A few European embassies in Japan have tweeted pictures of staff raising their hands under the hashtags #dontbesilent and #genderequality following recent sexist remarks by Tokyo Olympic organizing chief Yoshiro Mori.

After the German Embassy first used the hashtags on Friday, other European diplomatic missions in Tokyo, including those of Finland, Sweden and the European Union, followed suit.

Mori, an 83-year-old former prime minister, said Wednesday during a gathering of the Japanese Olympic Committee that women tend to talk too much in meetings as they have "a strong sense of rivalry."