Crying Japanese politician who became internet sensation to quit over expenditure scandal
Ryutaro Nonomura, whose extraordinary display of emotion went viral on the internet, quits over unexplained expenditure of public funds
An assemblyman in western Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, whose hysterical weeping at a press conference was widely circulated on the internet, offered to resign on Friday over his dubious spending of public funds, sources said.
Ryutaro Nonomura, 47, spent about 3 million yen (HK$230,000) without acquiring any receipts during a total of 195 one-day business trips to such destinations as a hot spring resort in Hyogo, Tokyo and Fukuoka from the city of Nishinomiya in the last fiscal year, according to his political funds report.
He also purchased stamps worth some 1.75 million yen in the business year that ended in March, the report showed.
At a three-hour news conference on July 1, Nonomura burst into tears, banged his fist on a table and yelled at reporters.
The assemblyman insisted he spent the money for “vigorous political activities” and denied any wrongdoing, but he failed to provide a full accounting of how the funds were specifically used.