2 Central Japan Town Mayors Resign over Harassment

   Togo, Aichi Pref./Ikeda, Gifu Pref., April 25 (Jiji Press)--The mayors of two central Japan towns each announced their resignations Thursday over their respective harassment scandals.
   Mayor Kenji Imata of Togo, Aichi Prefecture, was found by a third-party committee including lawyers to have continuously engaged in power harassment and sexual harassment against several town employees since he took office in 2018. The committee recognized several inappropriate remarks by Imata, such as telling someone to die and telling another, "When will you get big boobs?"
   "I want to apologize to the employees," Imata, 57, said at a press conference Thursday, after submitting his resignation to the town assembly the previous day. "I am ashamed that I was ignorant."
   At the same time, the mayor said, "Strong guidance is different from harassment. It is important to give guidance that gets through to people, and I learned the importance of the process."
   Meanwhile, Mayor Kazuo Okazaki of Ikeda, Gifu Prefecture, submitted his resignation to the town assembly on Thursday after another third-party committee released a report the previous day recognizing his sexual harassment against 15 town employees.

(2024/04/25-18:19)

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