Japanese mayor who bit softball athlete’s gold medal to forfeit three months’ pay

Japanese mayor who bit softball athlete’s gold medal to forfeit three months’ pay

SoraNews24·2021-08-17 18:00

Nagoya politician also attends harassment awareness workshop, says comments he made about dating and marriage to medalist were inappropriate.Following the Japanese womens softball teams gold medal victory over the U.S.A. at the end of July, left-handed pitcher Miu Goto returned to a heros welcome in her hometown of Nagoya. The celebration included meeting Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura, who wanted to convey his congratulations in person, but picked a very poor way to do so.During their meeting Goto naturally showed Kawamura her gold medal, and the 72-year-old politician promptly stuck it in his mouth and bit it, imitating the common photo-op pose struck with the Olympic hardware. What Kawamura apparently failed to properly understand, though, was that its supposed to be the athletes themselves biting their medals, and that not only is slobbering all over someone elses belongings gross, doing so in the middle of a pandemic is dangerous too. Miu Goto#kudoshozo

pic.twitter.com/OZBnZj7t0N— 4 (@kudoshozo) July 17, 2021With the bite caught on camera, the mayor has been facing a wave of criticism not just for his oral infraction but also for asking Goto if members of the softball team are allowed to date and encouraging her to Find yourself a good husband. During his regularly scheduled press conference on Monday he spoke of how hes trying to make amends, saying that on August 13th he attended a course on harassment awareness and that hes come to understand that his remarks to Goto were inappropriate. Kawamura will also be forfeiting three months of his salary, which works out to 1.5 million yen (US$13,640).While voluntary resignations often follow political scandals in Japan, Kawamura stated that he wishes to continue serving as mayor of Nagoya, while reiterating his previously made apology, saying I have caused discomfort to Goto and the people of the country, and will practice greater self-discipline.Its unclear whether Kawamuras forfeited salary will be donated to a charitable cause or simply remain in the citys coffers. Using it to pay for a replacement medal for Goto would seem like the most natural application, but the athlete herself seems to be attached to the one that was presented to her as she stood with her teammates at the Olympics, even if its spent some time in Kawamuras mouth since then.Source: JjiiTop image ©SoraNews24 Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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