Three-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said the sexist comments by Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori were "ignorant," but refrained from calling on him to resign on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the 83-year-old Mori, a former prime minister, said that women talked for too long in meetings. He later retracted and apologized for the comments he had made during a meeting with the Japan Olympic Committee, but refused calls to resign.
The comments set off a storm on social media at home and abroad, with a petition calling for action against Mori gathering tens of thousands of signatures on Friday, a day after it was launched by Japanese activists.