Furious Japanese officials have admitting editing a photograph of the country’s new cabinet.
Both media and the office of the Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba released pictures of the gathering at the PM’s official residence in Tokyo on October 1.
But eagle-eyed observers clocked that there were some differences in the version released by officials – sparking online speculation that it had been manipulated.
In the pictures, the recently installed Ishiba, can be seen stood shoulder to shoulder with his colleagues as he unveiled the ministers he has chosen to run Japan.
But media images show a slight wardrobe malfunction – that ended up being corrected with ‘minor editing’, a government spokesperson later admitted.
An image taken by the media shows Prime Minister of Japan Shigeru Ishiba (front centre) stood shoulder to shoulder with his ministers
In the original unedited images, which appeared in local media publications, small patches of white shirts can be seen peeking under the suits of the PM and the Japanese Defence Minister.
The official images on the Prime Minister of Japan’s shows the white shirts mysteriously absent.
After the pictures were mocked online, with Japanese social media users branding the picture ‘utterly embarrassing’, a spokesperson finally admitted today that ‘minor editing’ had taken place.
In words reported by BBC News, spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the pictures had been manipulated because it ‘will be preserved forever as memorabilia.’
Mr Hayashi said: ‘Minor editing is customarily performed on these photos.’
The spokesperson’s comments prompted mockery online.
One X, formerly Twitter, user said: ‘This is more hideous than a group picture of some kind of a seniors’ club during a trip to a hot spring. It’s utterly embarrassing.’
Another said it was clear the ministers were wearing ‘ill-fitting’ suits that were not the correct size.
Prime Minister Ishiba was the surprise victor in the leadership election for Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party. He beat Sanae Takaichi who if she had won would have become Japan’s first female PM.
The image released by the media is shown on the left compared to the ‘edited’ photo on the right. The images both show the Prime Minister (centre) and his defence minister (second from left) along with cabinet members – but with some subtle differences
In the original unedited images, which appeared in local media publications (left), small patches of white shirts can be seen peeking under the suits of the PM and the Japanese Defence Minister. This was rectified in the PM’s official photo (right)
Upon topping the leadership race in September, Ishiba announced plans for a snap election on September 27.
He said at the time: ‘It is important for the new administration to be judged by the people as soon as possible.’
In the elction Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party will be looking to secure another term in office. The party has been in power almost entirely uninterrupted for the past 68 years. This is aside from brief spells in opposition in the 1990s and in the 2000s.
Polling for the upcoming election suggests the party is on track to secure a further four years in power.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
