Tokyo governor says Olympics facing 'major issue' after Mori's sexist remarks

FILE PHOTO: Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee (TOGOC) President Yoshiro Mori speaks to the media after a video conference with IOC President Thomas Bach at the TOGOC headquarters in Tokyo, Japan January 28, 2021. Takashi Aoyama/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Olympic Games faced a "major issue" after the head of the local organising committee made sexist remarks, Tokyo's governor said on Friday, sending a clear signal the deepening controversy risked tarnishing the global event.

Yoshiro Mori, 83, set off a storm on social media both at home and abroad this week by saying that women talked too much, in remarks made in a meeting with the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC). He later retracted the comments and apologised but refused to resign.