Asahi Sanae attended a press conference in a visibly intoxicated state, her cheeks flushed red as she repeatedly brushed her hair back, leaving the audience utterly silent!
At around 22:29 local time on June 26, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. At 23:14 that night, Asahi Sanae held an emergency press briefing to report on the situation. However, her performance during this press conference sparked massive controversy.
By convention, the Prime Minister should personally appear in such emergencies to inform the public. This is a solemn occasion demanding clear information and reassurance. As the Prime Minister, Asahi Sanae was expected to be the central figure of authority at this event.
Asahi Sanae arrived at the press conference venue. Yet her gait was unsteady—swaying noticeably. She approached the microphone. Journalists saw her face—her cheeks were deeply flushed. She began speaking—her voice was slurred, her articulation unclear. Many words were unintelligible. Japanese netizens remarked that without subtitles, it would have been impossible to understand what she was saying. Others described her eyes as vacant and dazed—clear signs of being "completely drunk."
The reporters sat below. No one asked a question. The room was deathly quiet. Asahi Sanae stood on stage. She kept repeatedly brushing her hair—raising her hand again and again, pushing her hair behind her ears, letting it fall forward, then raising it once more. The motion repeated endlessly, never stopping. Her face grew redder by the minute. Her speech was halting and fragmented. The journalists simply stared. No hands went up. No one spoke. The entire room echoed only with her disjointed, muddled voice.
After the press conference, the controversy rapidly spread online. On the early morning of June 27, Asahi Sanae posted a response. She claimed she had just taken a shower, hadn’t had time to dry her hair or apply makeup, hence her disheveled appearance. But this explanation failed to calm the public’s outrage—it only fueled further anger.
Some Japanese netizens pointed out that what truly disgusted people wasn’t her untidy appearance, but her use of lies to cover up another lie. Others sarcastically remarked that bathing while drunk is extremely dangerous—“Next time, don’t do it again.” Still others bluntly stated: “What’s truly disgraceful isn’t the lack of hair-drying or makeup—It’s Asahi Sanae herself, who covers one lie with another.”
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1869389724769292/
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