Yoshiro Mori’s departure as organising committee chief is the latest setback to the beleaguered Tokyo Olympics.
Here the PA news agency looks back at the controversial incidents and setbacks which have blighted the Games as they limp towards their delayed start date.
August 2019: Russia accuses Japan of acting “illegally” after appearing to include some of the disputed Kuril islands on a map of the Torch Relay route on the official Tokyo 2020 website.
The Olympic Flame will arrive in Japan on 20 March 2020; the torch relay will traverse the country under the theme of “Hope Lights Our Way”, aiming to inspire the Japanese nation to unite around messages of supporting, accepting & encouraging one another. https://t.co/hoAsVaO2kr pic.twitter.com/YlF0VGJG1a
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) September 12, 2018
October 2019: The IOC announces its plan to relocate the marathon and race-walking events to the northern city of Sapporo due to heat concerns. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike says she opposes the move and describes it as a “tremendous shock”.
June 2019: Tsunekazu Takeda steps down as president of the Japanese Olympic Committee due to an investigation into an alleged bribery scandal connected to the Tokyo bid to host the Games.
December 2019: Reports in the Japanese media calculate the total spending on the Tokyo Olympics has rocketed to over £28billion, almost four times the initial £7.3bn estimated at the time of the bid.
March 2020: Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and IOC president Thomas Bach announce their decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics by a year due to the worldwide surge in coronavirus cases.
December 2020: Figures released by the Tokyo organising committee reveal the additional cost of postponing the Games to be as much as £2.8bn.
The Olympic Rings are back on display in Tokyo’s Odaiba Marine Park! ? #Tokyo2020
The famed Five Rings will remain in the bay until 8 August 2021 and will be illuminated at night, offering a great view of Rainbow Bridge and the Tokyo landscape. ?️
? https://t.co/oVc4K2oRbp pic.twitter.com/CP0MzK4ecG
— #Tokyo2020 (@Tokyo2020) December 1, 2020
January 2021: As the wider Tokyo region is plunged into a state of emergency due to the pandemic and a local poll suggests up to 80 per cent of people in Japan believe the Games should be postponed or cancelled, officials are forced to vehemently deny reports that members of the country’s ruling coalition have determined that the Tokyo Games are “doomed”.
February 2021: Tokyo organising committee chief Yoshiro Mori is forced to resign from his position following a backlash to sexist comments he reportedly made during a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
