Photo/Illutration Kenji Imata, the mayor of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, apologizes at the town hall on Nov. 16 for bullying and sexually harassing municipal staff. (Yoshinobu Matsunaga)

TOGO, Aichi Prefecture--A town mayor accused of threatening to kill staffers and kicking their desks and sexually harassing other employees apologized for his behavior after a whistleblower came forward.

“I sincerely apologize to the people of Togo and its municipal staff who felt offended by my inappropriate words and actions,” Kenji Imata said on Nov. 16.

Imata, 57, is accused of bullying workers by telling them to “go to hell,” threatening to “kill them” and kicking their desks when they didn’t meet his expectations.

A female staff member complained that the mayor told her, “When are you coming back with your enhanced breasts?” when she notified him that she would be hospitalized due to an illness.

At a municipal event, he was accused of giving a female employee wearing a mascot costume a forceful, unwelcome hug, saying, “It’s OK because it’s over the costume.”

“I was just trying to be funny, being humorous with them, but now I know I was wrong,” Imata said.

The mayor's actions came to light through an unofficial survey conducted of the town’s employees by a senior municipal official, who claimed to have been repeatedly harassed by the mayor.

Of the 72 workers who responded, more than half, or 39, said they had experienced or witnessed an act of bullying or harassment by the mayor.

The municipal government announced that it will conduct an official survey of its workers, numbering around 230, and launch a third-party committee to further investigate the cases.

Based on the results of the investigation, the mayor will decide on whether to resign.

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