Tokyo 2020 launches new gender equality team

FILE PHOTO: Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Organising Committee, speaks during a news conference following the Tokyo 2020 Executive Board meeting, in Tokyo, Japan February 18, 2021. Yuichi Yamazaki/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO— The new president of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee said on Wednesday that it had set up a gender equality team and aimed to boost the proportion of women on the board to 40%.

After her meeting with the board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Seiko Hashimoto told reporters that coronavirus measures and gender equality efforts were among the top priorities for the Tokyo Games.

She became chief of the Tokyo Olympics organizing team this month after her predecessor resigned over sexist remarks.