Reporters could hardly believe their eyes when a local assemblyman in central Japan literally melted down while trying to justify dubious travel expenses.

Ryutaro Nonomura is a member of the Hyogo Prefectural Assembly. Last year, he claimed 30-thousand dollars’ worth of expenses for a total of nearly 200 day trips to hot springs and other locations.

Nonomura insists the trips were part of his activities as a politician.

The emotional outburst has already attracted hundreds of thousands of views on social media websites.