A Japanese player who participated as a pitcher in the softball event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has received a new gold medal.
There was a commotion about this athlete's gold medal being bitten by the head of the local government with his teeth, and as a result of the controversy surrounding this, related organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to exchange it after consultation.
The person causing the controversy is Kawamura Takashi, the mayor of Nagoya City, Japan.
Mayor Kawamura held an event at Nagoya City Hall on the 4th to congratulate local softball pitcher Miu Goto winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
At this event, Goto hung his gold medal around Mayor Kawamura's neck, and Mayor Kawamura, who was wearing a mask, suddenly lowered the mask under his chin and bit the gold medal with his teeth.
This scene caused a lot of controversy in Japan when it went on the radio.
The act of biting the precious medal that the athlete had won with his teeth and making a mark was a problem in itself, but it is because the saliva, which can be the most dangerous transmission medium in the Corona 19 epidemic, is also buried.
As the controversy grew, Mayor Kawamura publicly apologized the next day, saying, "I am deeply sorry for my very inappropriate behavior."
Governor Hideaki Omura of Aichi Prefecture, which includes Nagoya City, even mentioned the exchange of medals amid controversy.
In the end, the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) and the Games Organizing Committee decided to exchange Mayor Kawamura's saliva-stained medal with a new one in consultation with the IOC.
NHK said that Goto also agreed to exchange for a new medal, and said that the exchange would take place through the necessary procedures in the future.
(Photo = Kyodo, Yonhap News)