Tokyo Olympics head Yoshiro Mori told a Japanese newspaper that he had decided to quit his post after global criticism erupted over his sexist remarks against women, but was convinced to reverse course after Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto and other Olympic officials begged him to stay on.
On Friday, the Mainichi Shimbun daily quoted Mori as saying that, just after the paper reported Thursday that he was prepared to resign over his remarks, a rushed meeting was held between him, Muto and other Tokyo Olympic officials, who tearfully urged him not to quit.
"When I looked around, those who didn't say anything were all crying," the Mainichi quoted Mori as saying. "What struck home most were Mr. Muto's words: 'If you step down as president, what would become of this organization of 5,000 people?'"