The mayor of Yokohama has apologized for insulting his colleagues after he was publicly accused by an official of making offensive remarks.
In a press conference, the Japanese city’s human resource chief, Jun Kubota, alleged that Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka used terms like “idiot” and “human scum” to humiliate the staff.
It is highly unusual in Japan for a serving city official to publicly accuse a sitting mayor and apologize.
Yamanaka initially denied the allegations, but later admitted to some of them. “I want to frankly apologize for putting a psychological burden on the personnel director,” he said.
In a news conference Thursday, Kubota accused Mayor Yamanaka of repeatedly making statements to officials — including himself — that would amount to workplace harassment.
The mayor is accused of calling officers “useless”, “crazy” and “low-spec”, as well as commenting on the appearance of colleagues and likening them to animals.
He was also accused of threatening Kubota, saying he would have to “commit seppuku” – a Japanese ritual suicide by disbowelment – if he failed to secure a bid at the international conference.
Kubota demanded an apology from Yamanaka and called for an investigation.
Yamanaka initially published a statement on his personal website, denying the allegations.
But on Friday, he publicly acknowledged some of the comments — including using words like “stupid” and “human scum” — and apologized.
“I’m thinking about it. I’ll be careful with my words and behavior,” Yamanaka said.
He said the comments were made during discussions about staff reviews.
But the mayor denied other accusations including insulting the appearance of colleagues.
Yamanaka said an investigation was being considered under the supervision of the deputy mayor, adding that he would cooperate “sincerely” if an investigation were to take place.
In response, Kubota insisted that Yamanaka made the comments he did not admit, saying: “The mayor didn’t understand anything. I can’t accept that as an apology.