‘I’ll Kill You if You Take a Year Off for Parental Leave’; Central Japan’s Mayor to Resign Over Abusive Comments

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:42 JST, April 25, 2024

Kenji Imata, mayor of Togo in Aichi Prefecture, on Thursday announced his intention to resign from his post after a third-party committee found that he harassed several town employees by saying things like “You idiot” and “Go die.” He is expected to resign on May 2.

According to the report, which the committee submitted to the town on Monday, Imata repeatedly had said abusive things to town workers since he took office in May 2018. His comments stated in the report include, “Your brain is smaller than a pigeon’s” and “I’ll kill you if you take a year off for parental leave,” the latter of which is considered maternity harassment. He also hugged a stuffed animal costume knowing that a female employee was wearing it.