Earlier this month in Kanagawa Prefecture, a high ranking government official was arrested for allegedly assaulting  his wife’s “male acquaintance.”  The attack took place when Mr. Noda (47) discovered his wife entering a hotel with another man (44) after following her when she left home late in the evening.  In the heat of the moment, Mr. Noda confronted them and allegedly ended up severely beating the man in the face and chest, breaking several ribs.

A few days after the confrontation, the alleged victim filed a complaint with the authorities.  After Mr. Noda was arrested, the story hit blogs across the internet and triggered a landslide of support for him.

“Innocent” is the word that came up most often in comments of support for Mr. Noda from that ubiquitous green internet user Anonymous. In every comment posted anywhere regarding the case, it’s hard to find anyone disagreeing with Mr. Noda’s actions.  One commenter sums it up by saying: “A man has to do what he did.”

While some people went as far as suggesting he should have hit his wife too, most others applaud his chivalry at taking his aggression out on the guy only.  One person commented how it was kind of cool to see someone in government who could break a guy’s chest with his bare hands.

But it wasn’t all blind support for Mr. Noda.  Some surprisingly sober (for the internet) comments came in suggesting that the man with his wife may not have even known she was married.  It’s possible, but unlikely given that they went out of their way to go to a hotel late in the evening.

If the case is as straight forward as it’s presented to be, than it’s really hard for any guy to disagree with what Mr. Noda did.  Even if I was the guy who got beaten, I would understand and not press charges against him.  I think Anonymous said it best: “If [Noda] isn’t found innocent, then I have no faith in Japan’s sense of justice.”

Source:  sankei.jp.msn.com  (Japanese)