Sexist remarks by Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee head Yoshiro Mori have set off a wave of criticism in Japan and abroad, but members of the country's government and sporting establishment have refrained from joining calls for his resignation.

With the coronavirus pandemic potentially jeopardizing the postponed Olympics, stakeholders are quietly backing the highly influential former prime minister, who is still seen as instrumental to the staging of the games.

Mori, 83, sparked the sexism row in a gathering of the Japanese Olympic Committee on Wednesday, when he said women tend to talk too much in meetings as they have "a strong sense of rivalry."