YASUGI, Shimane -- A comic storyteller has issued an apology after asking a sign language interpreter to leave the stage because the interpreter's movements were putting him off.

The storyteller, Sanshotei Yumenosuke, issued the apology after performing at an event at a city-run hall in Yasugi on Sept. 17.

The interpretation continued below the stage after the interpreter was urged to step down. After learning about the incident, the Shimane prefectural association for the deaf and mute filed a protest with the Yasugi Municipal Government and the comedian, saying his actions were a slap in the face to participants who couldn't hear.

Yumenosuke subsequently issued an apology, and the municipal government apologized directly to three people with hearing disabilities who turned up at the event.

Municipal government officials said 247 people including many elderly people due to turn 70 this year turned up at the event, which was arranged out of respect for the aged. On the day of the show, three sign-language interpreters were present.

However, the municipal government failed to inform Yumenosuke that a sign-language interpreter had been arranged for him, and about five minutes into his performance, he said, "Comic storytelling is something you do through speaking; it's not something that you can change into sign language."

He then said, "Most of the people here can hear, right? Having a person doing sign-language here puts me off, and I suppose it puts all of you off too." Some members of the audience reportedly laughed when he said this.

Afterwards, the entertainer continued by saying, "Can't something be done about this? If everyone here thinks it's all right, I don't mind, but what do you all think?"

The interpreter went down from the stage and continued her sign-language interpretation.

In a written apology, Yumenosuke explained his actions by saying, "I didn't want to cause trouble for the audience by becoming distracted and making a mistake in my dialogue, so I said something, hoping that the interpreter would sit down or stand behind me, not beside me."

When questioned over the incident, Yumenosuke's manager said the entertainer "deeply regretted" his comments.

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