American politicians know how to apologize. Get your family on stage and try to look strong as your entire political career crumbles. Those guys should teach Japanese politician Ryutaro Nonomura a lesson. Then again, if he really knew how to apologize on camera, the Internet wouldn’t have its latest viral sensation.
While apologizing for corruption charges, Nonomura, 47, went so melodramatic that even soap opera stars might be jealous. He cried hysterically, sobbing throughout as he tried to yell out his speech. One video of the conference has garnered over 1.5 million views.
According to The Guardian, the press conference lasted three hours. He is accused of using ¥3 million (just under $30,000) in official funds for personal trips. He allegedly went on 195 trips with the money during one year, including 106 trips to his favorite spa resort. In addition, he had no receipts for these trips.
Nonomura has been a member of the Hyogo assembly in western Japan since 2011. His outburst spawned countless insults on Twitter and social media. Needless to say, he probably won’t get an Oscar or even a Daytime Emmy for this performance.