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Crying Politician Ryūtarō Nonomura is Back
posted on by Eric Stimson
Hyōgo prefectural assemblyman Ryūtarō Nonomura became a pop culture sensation in Japan in 2014 when he apologized at a press conference for alleged embezzlement of public funds on trips to hot springs resorts. While politicians often make public apologies in Japan, Nonomura's was in a class of its own, thanks to his exaggerated behavior, including dramatic crying, fist pumping, and incoherent references to wanting to change the world and Japan's aging problem.
Since his melodramatic performance, Nonomura had faded into obscurity and now lives in seclusion with his parents in Osaka. Yet he's back in the limelight now, since he was put on trial on January 26 for his misuse of public funds. He appeared with a shaved head. According to courtroom artist Yoshitaka Enomoto, "his speech, expressions, behavior, the contents of his assertions, and tone of voice were all odd and I got the impression that he is a sick man. I didn't get the impression that he was messing around or pretending to be strange."
Nonomura implied that the police were involved in a conspiracy against him due to their confiscation of his forged expense receipts, and repeatedly claimed that he had no recollection of the incidents the prosecution related, and even that he had a memory problem.
The dialogue degenerated into exchanges such as:
Is this apple red?
I don't understand the meaning of this question.
Then again: Is this apple red?
No, Mt. Fuji isn't the world's highest mountain.
Japanese news and variety TV programs, as well as netizens, were amused at Nonomura's latest bizarre pose, in which he seems to be leaning at a nearly 90°-angle to hear someone. It was compared to a previous pose he made at the press conference, where he cupped his ear with his hand, which was satirized repeatedly online.
Nonomura's behavior reached meme status in 2014. Part of his speech earned the Silver Medal in that year's Great Internet Buzzword Awards, and Gintama parodied it in the first episode of its fourth series.
[Via Rocket News 24, The Guardian, J-Cast News, and My Game News Flash Courtroom artwork by Yoshitaka Enomoto ]
