HYOGO (TR) – Nishinomiya City has fired a 26-year-old municipal worker after he was caught sneaking off to sports gyms at least 185 times during work hours over a roughly three-year period, officials announced on Friday, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 22).
The male assistant supervisor in the Health and Welfare Bureau regularly stopped by gyms in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures on his way back from off-site assignments between November 2022 and January of this year.
According to the city, the man spent approximately 296 hours working out and commuting on the taxpayer’s time. At the peak of his illicit fitness regimen, he skipped work to visit the gym up to 10 times a month.
Further investigation revealed the man had driven to the gyms in an official city vehicle and even submitted his parking receipts as business expenses. The municipal government is now demanding the return of roughly 560,000 yen, covering the fraudulent parking fees and the salary paid to him while he abandoned his duties.
The official’s routine finally unraveled when a colleague spotted him mid-workout at a local facility during business hours.
During questioning, the man admitted to the chronic truancy. “Being at the workplace was stressful, and I wanted to escape,” he reportedly told the city.
Nishinomiya mayor Toshiro Ishii issued a public apology over the scandal, stating, “This is a situation that severely damages public trust in the city’s administration, and I offer my deepest apologies.”
