TOKYO - Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori resigned Friday after making derogatory remarks about women last week, in yet another complication for a games already imperiled by the coronavirus pandemic.

With less than six months until the Olympics are due to begin in the Japanese capital, the leadership transition at the organizing committee will take place amid lingering uncertainty over whether the postponed games will go ahead at all. But who will be Mori's successor is still not clear.

<Read chronology of events related to Tokyo Olympics chief Mori HERE>

"What is important is to hold the Olympics in July, so I cannot stand in the way of preparations," Mori, 83, head of the committee since 2014, said when he made the announcement at a special meeting of its executives. "If I cause trouble by remaining in the job, our efforts will all be wasted."

Yoshiro Mori (C), president of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, speaks at a meeting of its executive members in Tokyo on Feb. 12, 2021, to announce his resignation over his recent remarks slammed as sexist. (Kyodo)