A Japanese man who gambled a huge COVID-19 relief grant after mistakenly receiving the money said he would pay the Japanese authorities "in installments", local media reported.Authorities mistakenly paid the man 46.3 million Japanese yen (equivalent to $357,400) in April. The sum was to be divided among 463 people in a town in western Japan."I feel very sorry that I used up the money," the man's lawyer quoted him as saying.

The man's lawyer said Tuesday that his client used his smartphone to gamble with everything, using online gambling sites.He had initially said he would not return the money, and town officials asked the man's mother to visit with them at work to persuade him to pay, but to no avail, Reuters news agency reported.As a result, the town decided to sue him in order to get its money back.
But his lawyer said today, Wednesday, in a shift in his position, that his client has now made his decision to return the money, according to some reports. The town's mayor, Norihiko Hanada, welcomed the decision, but said the city had no intention of withdrawing the lawsuit. "This is one thing and the lawsuit we are bringing against him is another, so I hope he will tell the truth in court," Hanada was quoted by Reuters as saying. The Japanese authorities issued another batch of 100,000 yen payments to eligible families, to fulfill the goal of the COVID-19 Fund, which was originally intended to help needy families.