Minister slammed for demanding PIGGYBACK over a puddle in Japanese town ravaged by storm that killed 21 people
Senior government official Shunsuke Mutai was pictured laughing while hitching a ride on the back of a subordinate
A JAPANESE politician has been slammed after getting a PIGGYBACK over a puddle while visiting a town devastated by a storm which killed 21 people.
Vice-minister of reconstruction Shunsuke Mutai was pictured laughing and joking while a subordinate carried him over some water in Iwaizumi.
Typhoon Lionrock killed 21 people across Japan including nine who drowned in a nursing home in the town where Mutai visited.
After being widely criticised, the senior government official called his behaviour "inappropriate" saying he "deeply regretted” his actions.
Social media users accused Mutai of not taking his job seriously labelling him the "shame of Japan".
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Fellow politicians have also hit out at the beleaguered official.
The BBC reports that Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Mutai’s behaviour lacked “sensitivity.”
He said: "He went there as head of the government investigation team, so naturally he should have brought his rubber boots to begin with.
"I must say he lacked sensitivity to the residents and the region."
Reconstruction Minister Masahiro Imamura apologised to locals for his colleague’s actions and said that Mutai "had forgotten to bring rubber boots".
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