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Remember the Japanese mayor who bit an Olympic gold medal without seeking permission from the rightful owner?

To express his remorse, the 72-year-old Nagoya politician has offered to forfeit three months worth of salary to make amends.

As such, that bite costs him about 1.5 million yen, or S$18,603.

Proposed to not take salary for three months

Takashi Kawamura, who receives 500,000 yen per month, said at the press conference on Aug. 16 that he would not take salary for three months, according to The Asahi Shimbun.

The mayor said he wants to "admonish himself with the severest punishment".

Takashi Kawamura will be submitting the draft ordinance for his pay cut to the Nagoya city assembly in September, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

In addition, the mayor also attended a harassment awareness workshop on Aug. 13, which lasted a "few hours".

This was in response to the inappropriate comments he had made to Miu Goto, the athlete whose medal he had sunk his pearly whites into.

According to Kyodo News, Kawamura had asked Goto if her softball team was prohibited from having romantic relationships.

The Asahi Shimbun reported that the mayor had also advised Goto to "marry a nice guy".

His behaviour and comments have drawn flak from Japanese netizens.

Despite his "extremely regrettable" gaffe, the mayor shows no signs of stepping down from his post, and said he want to "continue serving the citizens of Nagoya.

Background

The incident involving the mayor and the medalist took place on Aug. 4, where Kawamura wanted to meet the athlete to congratulate her in person.

During the photo taking session, Kawamura had gestured for Goto to place the medal around his neck.

No sooner after the Olympian complied, and the mayor pulled down his mask, and sunk his teeth into the medal.

He was imitating the familiar pose that Olympic athletes strike after clinching their medals.

His action was heavily criticised as many deemed it disrespectful and unhygienic.

Backlash

Over 8,000 complaints were made to Nagoya City Hall following the incident, according to CNN.

The mayor has since pulled out of making an appearance at the Tokyo Paralympics and extended his apologies on two other occasions on Aug. 5 and Aug. 12.

Kawamura had also offered to pay for a medal replacement for Goto.

However, the organising committee of the Tokyo Games had declined the mayor's offer as they are unable to accept a "donation made for political purposes".

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Top image from @tokyoreviews/Twitter and screenshot from here

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