TOKYO — It may not receive the same scrutiny as Britain's royal family, but the Japanese government was nonetheless forced to admit Monday that it had doctored photos of its new Cabinet following online mockery of their unkempt attire.
Eagle-eyed social media users had spotted the editing over the untidy suits of the country’s top officials.
The pictures, released by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s office on his X page and taken by local media last week, show his and defense minister Gen Nakatani’s white shirts visibly poking out from under their suits in different angles.
But no shirt was visible in a frontal image later posted on Ishiba’s website, which caught the eye of some who blasted the Cabinet's unkempt attire.
When asked by reporters about the manipulated image on Monday, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said, “it did go through minor edits.”
“Commemorative photos such as when Cabinets are formed or other group photos taken during official events at the Prime Minister’s Office will remain as memorabilias for the participants for a very long time,” he said.
“And therefore my understanding is that slight edits have been conducted in the past, not just for this photo you inquired about.”
Although minor, the edits add the Japanese government to a growing list of administrations and royal families around the world who have manipulated their official pictures, raising questions about how much official pictures can be trusted.
In March, a Mother's Day portrait of Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her three children caused a global stir when international news agencies pulled the image after spotting various inconsistencies.
It was Kate's first picture after her unspecified abdominal surgery in January and the subsequent lack of explanation and long recovery stirred up a modern conspiracy and inflamed conspiracy theories about her whereabouts.
Kate apologized for the confusion and said she was just experimenting with editing. Some in Japan were minded to be sympathetic to the government's admission.
“It’s just an edit, give them a break,” one user on X wrote, commenting on the Japanese Cabinet picture. “But if you’re going go ahead and do it, fix the creases in suit.”
Ishiba’s newly announced Cabinet has also been criticized for gender inequality, with only two women in relatively minor roles in the 19-member team — down from five women in the outgoing Cabinet.
A former defense minister, Ishiba took office last week after the governing Liberal Democratic Party elected him as its new leader.
Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong.
