Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura said Monday he is ready to forfeit three months' pay totaling 1.5 million yen ($13,000) after drawing flak for biting an Olympic softball player's gold medal earlier this month during a ceremony.

Kawamura again apologized for the medal-biting incident, which occurred when Miu Goto, 20, a member of the women's softball team at the Tokyo Olympics who hails from the central Japan city, visited the mayor on Aug. 4.

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura tells a press conference in the central Japan city on Aug. 16, 2021 that he is ready to forfeit three months' pay totaling 1.5 million yen ($13,000) after drawing flak for biting an Olympic softball player's gold medal earlier in the month. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

"I feel morally responsible," Kawamura said at a press conference. He is expected to present an ordinance to cut his pay at an assembly session starting in September.

When the pair posed for photos during Goto's visit to city hall to celebrate her part in the team's victory, Kawamura gestured for her to place the medal around his neck and, taking off his mask, bit it -- copying a gesture often made by medal-winning Olympians.

He has also been accused of sexual harassment by making remarks at the time such as, "Are you prohibited from having romantic relationships?"

"I disgraced the occasion and offended Goto and the Japanese people," he said, bowing in apology at the press conference. The mayor also said he has received training on harassment following the incident.

Kawamura, however, ruled out resigning, saying he "wants to continue serving the citizens of Nagoya."

Goto's gold medal will be exchanged for a new one, with costs to be shouldered by the International Olympic Committee, according to the organizing committee of the Tokyo Games.

The city has received more than 7,000 complaints over Kawamura's behavior toward Goto. The incident went viral on social media, with Toyota Motor Corp., the Japanese auto giant which owns the softball team that Goto plays for, also calling his acts "inappropriate" and "extremely regrettable."

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura bites the gold medal of Tokyo Games Olympian Miu Goto, a member of the Japan softball team, at the Nagoya city hall in Aichi Prefecture on Aug. 4, 2021. (Kyodo)