Japan's former Olympics minister Seiko Hashimoto, who has been appointed chief of the Tokyo Organising Committee, faces the challenge of improving the image of the games — tarnished by sexist remarks by her predecessor that made headlines all over the world — and leading efforts to hold the major sporting event amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian and Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker, became president of the committee Thursday, succeeding Yoshiro Mori with just five months left until the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

The 56-year-old will lead a committee consisting of some 3,500 members at a time when it has grappled with low public support for the Summer Games, postponed last year due to the global health crisis.