TOKYO - The resignation of a Japanese mayor facing 99 allegations of sexual harassment sparked anger on social media on March 1, after he denied some cases and wept at a press conference.

An official investigation accused Mr Hideo Kojima, the mayor of Ginan, a town in central Gifu region, of several incidents of harassment, including touching a colleague’s breasts and buttocks.

The 74-year-old said on Feb 29 he would quit, a day after wiping away tears in front of reporters as he described his brother scolding him.

He denied some of the allegations detailed in a report by an independent committee, including that he had hugged women employees in incidents witnessed by others.

“I didn’t do it,” he said in televised comments, explaining that his gestures may have looked like a hug, but were not.

“The report lacks neutrality and I want them to investigate more carefully,” the mayor said.

According to broadcaster NHK, Mr Kojima said he had not read the whole report, which alleged that he would tell subordinates that “his hands were fair and smooth... to force female employees to touch them”.

The report said he would also “show off his legs by rolling up his trousers, and tell them to touch”.

Some workers used disinfectant spray after being touched, the report said, also detailing inappropriate remarks and demands such as asking an employee to bend over.

No criminal case has been publicly launched against Mr Kojima, who will leave his post on March 5.

The probe, launched following reports in the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine, said the mayor had often patted women workers on their heads.

Mr Kojima said that was meant to “express gratitude”.

The news was trending on social media platform X on March 1, with many users expressing anger.

“He shouldn’t be crying. It’s the employees who will want to cry,” one wrote.

“If you say patting someone on their head is just a form of communication, then do it to older men,” said another.

During its investigation, the committee conducted a survey among 193 workers in Mr Kojima’s municipality.

Of the 161 who responded, around 53 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women said the mayor had done something that made them feel uncomfortable.

The global #MeToo movement was slow to pick up in Japan, where many victims are said to be too scared to come forward, but a handful of high-profile cases have recently forced a reckoning. AFP