Last November, Kumamoto city councilwoman Yuka Ogata was at the center of a controversy when she brought her baby daughter to a session of the city assembly. Now, less than a year later, there’s an even bigger commotion stemming from an even smaller thing that her coworkers didn’t want her
Last November, Kumamoto city councilwoman Yuka Ogata was at the center of a controversy when she brought her baby daughter to a session of the city assembly. Now, less than a year later, there’s an even bigger commotion stemming from an even smaller thing that her coworkers didn’t want her to bring to work.
On Sept 28, Ogata arrived at Kumamoto’s municipal assembly hall for a plenary session of the city council. As she approached the podium for her turn to speak, assembly chairman Shinya Kutuski, seated at the front of the hall, held up his hand and called out “Representative Ogata, wait. Do you have something in your mouth?”
Ignoring a snort of laughter from one of the other politicians, the 43-year-old Ogata politely replied “It’s a Ryukakusan cough drop,” being so thorough as to give the name of the manufacturer. At that, the hall was immediately filled with angry shouts of objection, including “Make her take out the cough drop!” and “Eating and drinking is against the rules!”
Ogata had been experiencing cold-like symptoms for the past few days, including a recurring cough. Figuring it would be best to take precautions against inconveniencing others with the noise, she’d decided to pop in a cough drop for the meeting. She also says that by that point she’d already heard other council members complain about her coughing, calling it “noisy.”
One could make the argument that even if your throat isn’t feeling the best, if you’re about to give a speech, it’s best to spit out the cough drop and try to soldier through.
