Japanese politicians put on foldable plastic helmets in an earthquake disaster drill on Tuesday.
Video images broadcast on television and other media showed Finance Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi successfully putting on the collapsible plastic headgear.
The drill in parliament's lower house was the second since the kits, stowed under members' seats, were introduced in 2017.
School disaster drills are not unusual in Japan, where earthquakes are common.
A quake of magnitude 9.0 in March 2011 caused a massive tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people and triggered the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
'You never know when disaster will strike,' Tadamori Oshima, the lower house speaker, said at the end of Tuesday's session, wearing one of the white helmets with grey chinstraps that are reminiscent of traditional samurai headgear.
'I want you always to be on alert.'
The lawmakers' behaviour prompted some Twitter users to question if they were making light of a life-and-death matter.
Despite getting instructions on how to unfold and wear the helmets, at least one parliamentarian put his on back-to-front. Others needed a helping hand.
Some Twitter users called the lawmakers' levity off-key.
'The Speaker (of the lower house) was talking about being on alert, but others were laughing,' said one.
'Before protecting themselves, they should protect people's lives," complained another.
Others took a lighter view.
'Mr Aso's and Mr Motegi's smiling faces are charming,' wrote one apparent fan of the cabinet ministers.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
