This Japanese Politician Breaks Down Hysterically Amidst A Press Conference, The Allegations Though Are No Laughing Matter

Japan is indeed a land of strange, but publicly expressing strong emotions is certainly a very rare occurrence. Hence it’s no wonder that a video of politician crying hysterically has gone viral on the internet.

Japanese politician Ryutaro Nonomura wept hysterically as cameras rolled and clicked photos. The crying wasn’t even symbolic as he was seen emotionally distraught and wept inconsolably. Nonomura was a press conference in which he was to defend himself on embezzlement charges. He wanted to put forth his side of the story and tell the media he never misused the tax-payer’s money.

The video footage that has gone viral clearly shows it was a very bad day at the office for Ryutaro Nonomura, who pounded his fists on the desk in an apparent display of frustration and sobbing that would put any mourner to shame. The video shows Ryutaro Nonomura, 47, a Hyogo Prefectural assemblyman, bursting into tears, uttering nonsensical phrases and banging on the desk.

Though he speaks Japanese, a rough translation of his words is, “I ran for office… to change the world, and so I gave everything I had to appeal to the public”. He continued to cry in front of the local news reporters and uttered some incoherent words too, reported Metro.

Ryutaro Nonomura can be seen angrily crying while yelling at reporters, “You don’t understand” during at a conference at the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly on Tuesday in Kobe. The Japanese politician is suspected of misusing 3 million yen (£17,000) in expenses, reported Fox News.

The politician had faced severe criticism and public backlash last week after it was reported he had claimed for 195 long-distance return-tickets but failed to provide receipts for the journeys or even evidence he was carrying out official work. His visits were to the scenic and therapeutic hot springs. Though such visits were not illegal and had been reported by the politician’s office to the assembly office, the total amount appears quite absurd to be spent on a single person and hence the citizens are demanding an explanation.

During the press conference, in between sobbing, drawing deep breaths and then wailing again, Nonomura insisted, “I went to all the places [claimed for].” He also made a number of bizarre outbursts, at one point yelling, “Ageing population isn’t only a problem in our prefecture!” Needless to say, these statements clearly had nothing to do with the issue at hand, but somehow, the press, who was quite stunned, failed to ask him questions. This begs the question; Was it all a ruse & part of the politician’s theatrics?

The video footage was broadcast repeatedly by television stations in Japan and its YouTube reproduction has crossed 2 million views.

[Image Credit | YouTube]