Fusasho Izumi has offered to resign as mayor of Akashi city near Kobe
A Japanese mayor who came under fire after telling his subordinate to burn down a building in the way of a road construction project, offered to resign on Friday.
Fusaho Izumi, from Akashi city near Kobe in western Japan, was recorded ranting at a senior city official who was struggling to evict tenants and the owner of the building, as he sought to expand an existing road.
“Are you stupid?” he said in the tirade recorded in June 2017. “Make them evict! You go and start a fire today and get arrested! Burn it! No joke! Go and destroy the building now!”
The recording was released to the local media this week.
