By KENJI SEKI/ Staff Writer
August 17, 2021 at 17:37 JST
Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura bows deeply and apologizes over his medal-biting scandal at the Nagoya municipal government office on Aug. 16. (Kenji Seki)
NAGOYA--Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura announced on Aug. 16 that he will forfeit his salary for the next three months, worth 1.5 million yen ($13,700), to redeem himself from an Olympic medal-biting scandal.
Kawamura apologized once again for putting a gold medal between his teeth after women’s softball player Miu Goto showed it off during a courtesy visit at city hall on Aug. 4.
He also had offered to pay to have the medal replaced.
But the Japan Olympic Committee told him that it “wouldn’t accept a donation made for political purposes, based on the Olympic Charter,” he revealed at an Aug. 16 news conference.
“I disgusted our citizens and people. I also caused more trouble to Goto, as she was unwillingly thrust into the spotlight,” Kawamura said. “I would like to apologize to them as much as I can.”
He then bowed deeply.
He has been receiving an annual salary of 8 million yen, lowered voluntarily to make it reasonable compared to the average salary of local residents. He receives 500,000 yen a month.
He said that he would “make it zero for three months.”
“I want to admonish myself with the severest punishment,” he added.
He plans to submit the draft ordinance to reduce his salary to the Nagoya city assembly in September.
But he refused to step down over the matter.
Kawamura is also under fire for inappropriate comments he made to Goto, 20, during the same incident.
“You should marry a nice guy,” he told her, along with, “Are you prohibited from having a romance?”
He apologized for making the comments at news conferences on Aug. 5 and 12, but he continued to take flak on social media.
“He does not seem to reflect on himself,” one user posted.
On Aug. 13, Kawamura attended a workshop on sexual harassment that lasted a few hours.
“I have been saying such things to cheer others up, but I realize that those comments could be seen as harassment,” he said. “It’s all my fault. I was wrong.”
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