Former Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori has criticised Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a speech in the Japanese capital ©Getty Images

Former Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori has claimed that Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy should take some of the blame for the war with Russia.

The ex-Japanese Prime Minister is renowned for his many gaffes, including having to resign last year as the head of Tokyo 2020 after making sexist remarks.

"I don’t quite understand why only President Putin is criticised while Mr. Zelenskyy isn’t taken to task at all," the 85-year-old Mori told a political event in Tokyo, Japanese agency Kyodo News reported.

"Mr. Zelenskyy has made many Ukrainian people suffer."

When Prime Minister between 2000 and 2001, Mori helped strengthen bilateral ties with Russia through talks with Vladimir Putin.

In 2004, Putin presented Mori with the Order of Friendship for his "contribution to the development of Russian-Japanese cooperation." 

After stepping down as a politician 10 years ago, Mori met with Putin as a special envoy of then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Yoshirō Mori was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin after helping strengthen relations between the two countries when he was Japanese Prime Minister ©The Kremlin
Yoshirō Mori was awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin after helping strengthen relations between the two countries when he was Japanese Prime Minister ©The Kremlin

During the event in the Japanese capital, Mori also criticised the country’s media for their "one-sided" coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He claimed the Japanese press "only rely on reports from Europe and the United States."

Mori also warned Putin may decide to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine if the current situation is not resolved soon.

"Putin, too, has face to save," Mori said.

Mori claimed that Abe, who was assassinated earlier this year, could have helped broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

"The one who could play a role of helping settle the current situation would have been former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," Mori said.

"Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is leaning one-sidedly toward the United States."

Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky "has made many Ukrainian people suffer", former Tokyo 2020 President Yoshirō Mori has claimed ©Getty Images

In February last year during an Executive Board meeting of Tokyo 2020, Mori claimed women talk too much in meetings.

While discussing the objective of aiming for at least 40 per cent of members to be female, he said that "On Boards [of Directors] with a lot of women, the Board meetings take so much time.

"Women have a strong sense of competition.

"If one person raises their hand, others probably think, I need to say something too.

"That’s why everyone speaks."

Mori apologised for his comments afterwards but was still forced to resign and was replaced by Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medallist in speed skating and who had represented Japan in seven editions of the Games.