SEIKO HASHIMOTO on Thursday made history in Japan, where women are still rare in the boardrooms and positions of political power. She was named as president of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee after a meeting of its male-dominated executive board.

She replaces 83-year-old Yoshiro Mori, a former Japanese prime minister who was forced to resign last week after making sexist comments about women. Essentially, he said women talk too much.

Hashimoto appeared in seven Olympics — four Winter Olympics and three Summer Olympics. According to historian Dr. Bill Mallon, her seven appearances is the most by any “multiseason” athlete in the Games.

Hashimoto had been serving as the Olympic minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. She competed in three Summer Olympics (1988, 1992 and 1996) in cycling and in four Winter Olympics (1984, 1988, 1992 and 1994) in speedskating. She won a bronze medal — her only medal — in 1992 at 1,500 meters in speedskating.

Hashimoto is tied to the Olympics in many ways. She was born in Hokkaido in northern Japan just five days before the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Her name “Seiko” comes from “seika,” which translates as Olympic flame in English.

Naming a woman could be a breakthrough for gender equality in Japan, where females are underrepresented in boardrooms and in politics. Japan ranks 121st out of 153 countries on the World Economic Forum’s annual gender equality ranking.(SD-Agencies)