Seems like everybody's getting in on the bashing of United Airlines-the public, celebrities, other airlines, late-night hosts. But Japanese politicians?
Yes, even Japanese politicians.
During a speech at New York City's Columbia University on Wednesday night, Japan's deputy prime minister Tara Aso was ostensibly there to 'extol his nation's virtues' according to Bloomberg News.
Despite enduring an economic slump, "Our social fabric has not been torn apart," Aso said of the Japanese people, noting that the "the sense of pride among workers is still intact."
Then, the zinger: "Airline crew will not beat you."
Oh boy.
[READMORE]READ MORE: United To Testify At Hearing [/READMORE]
Clearly, it was a shot at United and its recent problems stemming from an April 9 incident in which was a passenger was involuntarily bumped from a flight. When he refused to leave, 69-year old Dr. David Dao suffered a broken nose, two broken teeth and a concussion while being dragged from his seat by Chicago Aviation Police.
But Bloomberg also noted that the 76-year old Aso has been candid-some might say flippant-with previous comments.
Last year, he called securities workers 'shady characters' and he once asked why old people were worried about making ends meet given they won't be around much longer.
Thus, United seems to be the low-hanging fruit the deputy prime minister is so fond of searching out.
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