press conference – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Thu, 06 Apr 2017 13:01:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 press conference – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Outburst by Japanese minister at press conference overshadowed by…his Eva anime tie https://soranews24.com/2017/04/06/outburst-by-japanese-minister-at-press-conference-overshadowed-by-his-eva-anime-tie/ https://soranews24.com/2017/04/06/outburst-by-japanese-minister-at-press-conference-overshadowed-by-his-eva-anime-tie/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2017 13:00:57 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=371559

Viewers were shocked to see the Reconstruction Minister rip into a journalist but then they couldn’t tear their eyes away from his necktie.

Masahiro Imamura, the minister in charge of reconstruction in the disaster-hit Tohoku area, made news this week after he stormed out of a press conference following a heated exchange with a Japanese journalist.

Imamura was answering questions from the press after the Fukushima Prefectural Government ceased financial assistance for housing 26,000 voluntary evacuees from areas around the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on 31 March.

Tensions rose at the press conference, which was held on 4 April, when a freelance journalist, who has not been identified, repeatedly asked Imamura how the Reconstruction Agency planned to assist these voluntary evacuees.

Imamura maintained that voluntary evacuee assistance was the responsibility of the Fukushima Prefectural Government rather than the central government, but after being pressed by the journalist to “answer more responsibly”, the minister suddenly raised his voice, insisting that he was doing his job responsibly, before berating the journalist for his rudeness and demanding he retract his comment.

Gesturing towards the door, the minister told the journalist to “Get out!” and “Never come here again!” before leaving the podium and exiting, shouting at the journalist to “Shut up!” as he left the room.

The heated exchange occurs at the 6:22 mark in the video below:

The incident was quickly picked up by the media, with the footage appearing on news reports around the country, and the minister issuing a formal apology for his emotional outburst the same afternoon. While Japanese viewers were shocked and appalled by the minister’s behaviour, many of them took to social media to discuss the big white elephant in the room that nobody else seemed to have picked up on: the fact that the minister was yelling from a position of authority all while wearing a cute and colourful anime necktie.

今村大臣のネクタイがエヴァだった pic.twitter.com/r5rispeGQO

— たまネギ@Ramuh (@negidanshakuimo) April 4, 2017

The illustrated characters, which were clearly seen on screen, are from the hugely popular anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. With a number of Eva ties available on the market, eagle-eyed fans of the franchise were able to track down the exact tie the minister was wearing.

https://twitter.com/milkykoara/status/849774728537559040

While many questioned why a man in such a high-ranking senior position would be wearing an anime necktie, fans were quick to come up with the answer. The necktie comes from a Japanese anime studio called Gainax, which has produced a number of popular productions over the years, including Neon Genesis Evangelion. In 2015, Gainax opened a studio and in-house museum in the town of Miharu, Fukushima, one of the disaster-hit areas in the Tohoku region, as part of plans to help revive tourism in the area following the disasters in 2011.

So it makes sense for the Reconstruction Minister to wear a necktie that shows his support for the Fukushima region. It’s just unfortunate that he chose to lose his temper at the press conference, regardless of what type of outfit he was wearing.

Source: Naver Matome
Featured image: YouTube/OPTVstaff

]]> https://soranews24.com/2017/04/06/outburst-by-japanese-minister-at-press-conference-overshadowed-by-his-eva-anime-tie/feed/ 0 371559 Screen Shot 2017-04-06 at 20.01.20 Public outrage after celebrity mother apologizes for son’s alleged crime, gets grilled by media https://soranews24.com/2016/08/28/public-outrage-after-celebrity-mother-apologizes-for-sons-alleged-crimes-gets-grilled-by-media/ https://soranews24.com/2016/08/28/public-outrage-after-celebrity-mother-apologizes-for-sons-alleged-crimes-gets-grilled-by-media/#comments Sun, 28 Aug 2016 05:00:47 +0000 http://en.rocketnews24.com/?p=341201

What was meant to be a brief but shameful public apology by the parent of a rape suspect turned into a lengthy feeding frenzy by the media.

On 26 August at 9:00 a.m., actress Atsuko Takahata held a press conference to apologize for her son Yuta Takahata. Yuta, who has also appeared in several TV shows and movies, is accused of raping a hotel employee while filming in Gunma prefecture.

These types of press conference where a parent public apologizes for their children’s actions — even if they are adults — is not uncommon in Asian cultures for high profile cases. However, this particular apology got especially out of hand.

Atsuko is also a well-known actress, and, as a result, a swarm of entertainment reporters showed up at the press conference all hungry for their own sound bite. Question after question was hurled at Atsuko regarding her relationship with her son and what they spoke about after he was arrested. What should have been the worst five minutes of Atsuko Takahata’s life turned into the worst 70 minutes instead.

Many who watched the conference noticed how questions were slanted to vilify Yuta. Bearing in mind that the evidence against Yuta appears to be damning and he himself is reported to have confessed, saying he couldn’t control himself, it’s hard not to vilify him. However, such questions are better suited for his lawyers than his mother.

Here’s what viewers had to say:

“Those aren’t things you should ask a mother.”
“Aren’t these questions a little harsh?”
“Reporters throwing these awful questions like it’s nothing.”
“As usual, the mass-media is just a bunch of ass-media.”
“Those reporters are being way too harsh on her.”
“These interviewers are pieces of trash.”

The nearly unanimous disgust with the way Atsuko was treated led many to question why parents are obliged to apologize for their children to begin with. On one hand, some could argue that it is a deterrent to people considering a criminal act or that criminals are products of their parents’ raising.

On the other hand, at a certain age, people should be accountable for themselves, and, at 22, so should Yuta Takahata. Whatever value public apologies by parents has in society, we may soon see less of them after the treatment of Atsuko Takahata.

Source: Yahoo! Realtime (Japanese)
Original article by Mr. Sato

]]> https://soranews24.com/2016/08/28/public-outrage-after-celebrity-mother-apologizes-for-sons-alleged-crimes-gets-grilled-by-media/feed/ 0 341201 img_2576-1 img_2576