A former prefectural assemblyman who gained notoriety for weeping hysterically at a 2014 news conference over his dubious spending of political funds pleaded not guilty Tuesday to fraud charges stemming from his alleged misuse of the money.
"I've never made false statements in my funds report," Ryutaro Nonomura, a 49-year-old former member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly, said during the first session of his trial at the Kobe District Court.
The trial's opening had been postponed to Tuesday because he had failed to appear on the initially planned date.