TOKYO, Jan. 4 -- A Japanese mayor was under fire for allegedly saying "I'll kill you" to a reporter when the reporter approached him in the city hall to ask a question.

Takeshi Imamura, 45, mayor of Nishinomiya city in Hyogo prefecture, western Japan, allegedly made the remarks to the reporter after an internal ceremony on Thursday marking the first working day of the new year.

The reporter from the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper was trying to ask the mayor to confirm what he had said earlier at the ceremony about not seeking reelection in the mayoral race in April, according to local reports.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper's public relations department said that the mayor's action was extremely inappropriate and it has lodged a strong protest with the mayor to ask him to apologize.

Imamura was elected mayor of Nishinomiya in April 2024. He has also sparked controversies in the past for refusing to answer questions from media outlets which he called "biased" and for other issues.