Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have not ruled out a future role for Yoshiro Mori, despite him quitting as the organisation’s president for making sexist remarks.

Mori caused uproar last week when he said that meetings involving women tended to “drag on”, and on Friday he resigned after accepting the remarks had “caused chaos”.

However, Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshiro Muto would not rule out the possibility of tapping into Mori’s “human network” in a formal or informal capacity in the five-month run-up to the Games, despite accepting that his comments were in contradiction of the Olympic Charter.

“Among his many accomplishments, President Mori helped to make Tokyo the best-ever prepared Olympic city. The IOC will continue working hand-in-hand with his successor to deliver a safe and secure Games.”

Parsons added: “In life, I’m a firm believer that out of all bad situations something good must come out of it.

“I sincerely hope that the domestic and international reaction over the last seven days can be harnessed so that society places greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion, not just in terms of gender representation, but race, sexuality, and persons with disabilities.

“This world is a wonderful and diverse place and it is important we embrace inclusion to get the best out of each and every one of us to benefit society as a whole.”