Society

Police arrest graduate students for Kyoto intersection 'kotatsu' stunt

May 24 (Japan Today) - Two graduate students have been arrested for sitting around a traditional Japanese heated table they set up at the center of a busy intersection in western Japan, police said Wednesday.

Masako Ueda, a 31-year-old student at Kyoto University's graduate school, and fellow 26-year-old student Masatoshi Kato were arrested on suspicion of obstructing traffic. The motivation for their stunt is unknown.

On the afternoon of Feb 25, Ueda and Kato allegedly set up the kotatsu" a square table with a heater and blanket attached and common in many Japanese households, with a hot pot cooker on top.

The four sat around the kotatsu for more than 10 minutes at the intersection near the university in Kyoto city. After rushing to the scene, police warned them to move along and the group loaded the table on a handcart and carried it into the university.

Source: ANNnewsCH

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