After Mori’s resignation last Friday, Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the organising committee, announced the formation of a new selection committee, comprised half of men and half of women, to choose a successor. A number of names had surfaced in the Japanese media, but Hashimoto always seemed to be the clear leader. Hashimoto is a member of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s governing Liberal Democratic Party and has served in the upper house of Japan’s Parliament since 1995. As an Olympian, Hashimoto competed in a total of seven Summer and Winter Olympic Games in the 1980s and ’90s, competing in speedskating and cycling. She won a bronze medal in the 1,500-meter speedskating event at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, in 1992.

Source: bd News24 February 18, 2021 08:48 UTC