Tokyo Governor Urges Olympic Golf Facility To Allow Women Members

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike "has asked the Kasumigaseki Country Club, venue of golf competition of the 2020 Olympic Games, to admit women as full members," according to Amlan Chakraborty of REUTERS. Koike said, "I feel very uncomfortable about women not being able to become a regular member in this era." The club situated in Saitama Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, "also bars women from playing there on Sundays." Last year, Muirfield golf club "lost its place on the rotation of venues for the British Open after a ballot in May rejected the lifting of a ban on women members" (REUTERS, 1/13). KYODO reported Kasumigaseki Country Club "may consider allowing women to become full members," an informed source said Saturday. A club official said, "Some believe we should reconsider our thinking to conform with the way the world is moving" (KYODO, 1/15).