The Kasumigaseki Country Club, which is set to host golf for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, "failed to reach a decision about ending a ban on women as full members on Tuesday," with the head of its board of directors calling the situation "a nuisance," according to Elaine Lies of REUTERS. The board meeting "followed calls to shift the tournament from the private club in Saitama prefecture because of the rule, which allows women to play Monday through Saturday but bars them from becoming full members and from playing on Sundays." Public broadcaster NHK reported opinions at the meeting "were divided." Board Chair Kiichi Kimura said that the club was "basically in the position of loaning out the venue for the Olympics." He said, "That this situation has developed is a nuisance for us, it's really perplexing" (REUTERS, 2/7). KYODO reported a source with knowledge of the talks said that some board members opposed changing the club's policies, with one saying, "I do take issue with changing it just because we've been told to do so." Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee COO Yukihiko Nunomura said that he was "briefed about the board meeting." He said, "I heard there was no resolution, and that they would carefully explain things to the membership" (KYODO, 2/7).
