A Japanese politician has suffered an embarrassing on-screen meltdown after being quizzed about his alleged misuse of public funds. Ryutaro Nonomura, a 47-year-old MP from Hyogo Prefecture, in central Japan, has become an internet sensation after bursting into tears during a press conference on Wednesday. Videos of his performance made the evening news and footage on YouTube has been viewed more than 1 million times. Wailing and with tears streaming down his face, Mr Nonomura becomes increasingly incoherent as he faces the media. With occasional pauses for breath and gulps of water, Mr Nonomura pounds the table to emphasise his point, although the sobbing makes it difficult to follow his train of thought. I finally became an assembly member, he said, pausing for an extended bout of crying, with the sole purpose of changing society. Dont you understand? he asked repeatedly. This Japan, I want to change this society, he added, halting again. I have staked my life. Dont you understand? Mr Nonomura has been accused of failing to provide receipts for Y3 million (£17,162) he spent from official allowances to visit hot spring resorts. Media reports suggest that he claimed transport expenses for 195 journeys to four different resorts over the space of one year. As well as being unable to provide receipts for any of the journeys, he could not remember the routes he took or the prices of any of the journeys. Questioned about his reasons for the trips, Mr Nonomura claimed he had a good reason for not divulging the reasons and insisted that he had promised other people who had accompanied him that their names would not be divulged. The prefectural authorities have conducted an investigation, according to local media, and concluded that Mr Nonomuras actions were not illegal. The red-faced assembleyman, however, appeared to confirm that he had misused funds, shouting: I went to all the places at one point in the press conference - but muddied the waters by subsequently declaring: The aging population is not only a problem in our prefecture. Commentators on social media expressed little sympathy for the politician, with some saying that while his actions were appalling, his performance in the press conference was shameful. Others said he was acting like a spoiled three-year-old or a drama queen. Shame is a powerful emotion in Japanese culture and Mr Nonomuras grovelling performance may have convinced some voters in the prefecture that he is contrite for his actions. Source APTN
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 21:25:17 +0000
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