People who have stage fright often find their hands shaking, face turning red and minds going blank when they have to make a public speech.
Making matters worse, a lot of people suffering from performance anxiety are actually required to speak in front of a large audience in their line of work, including lawmakers, lawyers and priests.
Tetsuya Miyaki, 61, a former official of the Nagoya Municipal Government who also served as mayor of the city's Atsuta Ward, was one of those people.