The head of the Tokyo Olympics organising committee has resigned after he was criticised for making “inappropriate” remarks about women.
Yoshiro Mori, 83, was quoted as saying women talk too much and that meetings with many female board directors would “take a lot of time”.
The remarks set off a firestorm of protest and Mr Mori apologised at the time but said he would not resign.
But on Friday he apologised for his “inappropriate statement”.
It is not immediately clear who will replace Mr Mori, a former Japanese prime minister.
He had initially selected well-known sports administrator Saburo Kawabuchi, 84, to replace him but this also led to protests.