Yoshiro Mori, the embattled president of the Tokyo Olympics Organising Committee, has officially announced his resignation following backlash over his sexist remarks.

Last week, Mori sparked international outrage by saying, “Board meetings with women take too long because they talk too much.”

The 83-year-old former prime minister of Japan later apologized, but by then, the damage had been done.

Friday morning Mori announced his resignation, saying: “I would like to again apologize causing chaos with my inappropriate remarks. To the executive board members and relevant parties and many others I would like to offer my heartfelt apology to all. Today, yet I think the word is already out, as of today, I would like to resign as the head of the Tokyo Organising Committee.”

“The important thing is to have the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics on July 23rd. In order to make the games successful, I should not be an obstacle in the preparation,” he added.

Tokyo 2020 will hold a news conference within the next few hours.

This is a developing story.