Police arrest graduate students for Kyoto intersection 'kotatsu' stunt

Japan Today -- May 24

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.

May 24 (ANNnewsCH) - 京都大学近くの交差点で2月、若者らがこたつを置いて居座る事件があり、京大の大学院生が逮捕されました。 京都市左京区の「百万遍」の交差点で2月、男女4人がこたつを置いて鍋を囲んで座っていました。