Japanese politician kicked out of chamber again — this time over a cough drop
Yuka Ogata had previously been forced to leave after bringing her infant son to the assembly
A Japanese municipal assembly member, who was forced to leave the chamber last year after bringing her baby to a session, was ejected again last Friday — this time for speaking with a cough lozenge in her mouth.
Last November, Yuka Ogata was instructed to leave the Kumamoto city assembly by her colleagues, who claimed her seven-month-old baby violated a regulation that says visitors must sit in the public gallery.
On Sept 28, it was a cough drop that earned her the boot.
Ogata told As It Happens host Carol Off about the experience. Here is part of their conversation.
Is that against the rules, to bring anything to eat, or drink anything in this chamber?
No, it's not.
I'm trying to bring the change, that's why I'm treated this way.- Kumamoto city assembly member, Yuka Ogata
So you weren't breaking the rules. Why did they think you should leave?
They misunderstood there was such a rule. They were shouting in the chamber that it's against the rules ... they stopped the session, and they checked the rule book, and the rule was not there.
They were shouting at you for having a lozenge in your mouth?
Yes, they were shouting many things, during the whole time I was asking questions to the chairperson of the council management committee.
What were they shouting at you?
"You have something in [your] mouth!" or "Make her throw away the candy!" or "It's against the rules!" ... so many things.
It took all day, eight hours this went on, they threw you out, they had a whole meeting about what to do about you and your throat lozenge, and then they wrote an apology that you were to read aloud. What were you to say in that apology?
I was ordered to say that I broke a rule, and hurt the dignity of the council.
How have you been treated, because it is almost all men in the chamber, right? ... Do you think that this lozenge incident is because they don't like you there?
Yeah, because I'm trying to change things there. There's so much pressure on me, they want to keep things the way they are, the way they have been. ... I'm trying to bring the change, that's why I'm treated this way.
What are you trying to change in your city assembly?
I'm trying to make it more relevant to people's lives. I want it to be more open to women, or people with disabilities, you know, more diverse people. I would like to make it more open to [the] public, so people can more easily participate.
Written by Imogen Birchard. Produced by Ashley Mak. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.