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Japanese mayor under fire for biting Olympian's gold medal

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Kyodo News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Nagoya City Mayor Takashi Kawamura bites the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal of the softball athlete Miu Goto during a ceremony in Nagoya" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/reuters/08/05/20210805-olympic-medal-rtr.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Nagoya City Mayor Takashi Kawamura bites the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal of the softball athlete Miu Goto during a ceremony in Nagoya, central Japan, Aug. 4, 2021.<em> Kyodo/Reuters</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>NAGOYA— An outspoken central Japan mayor has drawn fire after biting the Olympic gold medal won by a member of the Japan softball team, with the act described as &quot;lacking respect&quot; for the athlete and &quot;insensitive&quot; amid the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura&#x27;s stunt occurred Wednesday when Miu Goto, a 20-year-old native of the city, visited the municipal government following the team&#x27;s victory over the United States at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.</p><p>When Goto put the medal around the neck of Kawamura, he first grabbed it and said &quot;it&#x27;s heavy,&quot; before suddenly biting it without asking her permission.</p><p>[LINK: https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/05/21/japan-to-expand-covid-19-curbs-due-to-virus-surge]</p><p>Many people took to Twitter saying the gesture showed a &quot;lack of awareness amid the surge of coronavirus cases&quot; in Japan.</p><p>Toyota Motor Corp., which owns the club team Goto plays for, has also criticized Kawamura, saying in a statement, &quot;it was an unworthy act and lacks respect&quot; for the athlete&#x27;s long-running efforts that helped the national softball team clinch victory.</p><p>&quot;We truly hope (the mayor) will behave (appropriately) as a leader,&quot; said the company based in Toyota, near Nagoya.</p><p>Kawamura apologized Wednesday over his conduct. &quot;It was the greatest expression of my affection. I&#x27;m sorry if I caused any trouble,&quot; he said in a statement.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/08/03/21/japan-govt-starts-to-name-and-shame-quarantine-rule-breakers">Japan gov&#x27;t starts to &#x27;name and shame&#x27; quarantine rule-breakers</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1739051" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

An outspoken central Japan mayor has drawn fire after biting the Olympic gold medal won by a member of the Japan softball team.