Fuji Network News reported the increase in female Board members was set to result from comments by the new head of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee Seiko Hashimoto, who called for women to comprise 40 per cent of the Board.

There are reports that the new Board members are set to include former Olympians and individuals with experience in athletics, or academic work.

Women currently account for seven out of 34 places on the Board, a total of 20 per cent.

Hashimoto was appointed as the new President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee after the resignation of Yoshirō Mori earlier this month.

Mori, 83, resigned after widespread criticism of comments he made at a meeting of the Japanese Olympic Committee, when he claimed that women talked too much.

Around 1,000 volunteers due to help at Tokyo 2020 resigned this month, with the row surrounding Mori’s comments cited as one of the reasons.

Mori’s replacement Hashimoto spoke to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) last week for the first time.

IOC President Thomas Bach said Hashimoto was "warmly welcomed" by the IOC Executive Board and praised the "seamless transfer of power" at the top of Tokyo 2020.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics have been delayed by 12 months because of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Olympics scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, with the Paralympics set to follow from August 24 to September 5.