Japanese mayor resigns after making death threat to reporter

TOKYO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- A mayor in western Japan turned in his resignation after receiving a harsh backlash for threatening to kill a reporter, local media said Monday.

Takeshi Imamura, mayor of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, was set to serve until his current term ended in May, but tendered his resignation to assembly chairman Masatake Tanaka, abruptly halting his tenure.

Imamura, 45, told a reporter from the national daily Yomiuri Shimbun that "l'll kill you," when the reporter approached him after a New Year ceremony on Jan. 4, local reports said.

At the ceremony, Imamura, in his first four-year-term, had said that he would not run in the mayoral election in April.

While admitting the death threat amounted to "verbal abuse" Imamura went on to call the reporter a "pervert" for reportedly entering the mayor's private property when visiting his home.

The Yomiuri Shimbun lodged a protest about Imamura's remarks.

Imamura, known to take a tough position towards news organizations he deems to be "biased," reportedly said to the reporter "I'll kill you" because the "trespassing" reporter had not offered an apology, according to local media accounts. Enditem