[/floatl]The New Year has got off to a bad start for 71 year old LDP politician Shigeru Uchida. He took part in a mochi pounding session at a school in Chiyoda ward on the 8th of this month with unfortunate consequences. Wielding the mallet, Uchida got his timing a little awry and started his downstroke while a member of the DPJ was still folding the mochi. He struck the other man on the back of his head, knocking him momentarily unconscious while blood appeared at the point of contact. The victim was quickly taken to hospital and his wife later said that he had sustained a minor injury and had made a good recovery.
Source (Japanese)
