TOKYO (JAPAN) – Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has come under fire for taking part in year-end social gatherings after urging citizens to avoid such parties as the nation is witnessing record rise in coronavirus cases.
Despite warning the public, the prime minister took part in a series of get-togethers this week, inviting criticism from politicians and social media users as well as from his party’s coalition partner.
Economy minister in charge of coronavirus policies defended the prime minister’s gatherings and he said in parliament on Wednesday that there was no enforced rules about group meals.
Government spokesman Katsunobu Kato also said late on Tuesday that Suga had taken the necessary precautions before attending the gatherings.
“It is important to make individual decisions, based on balancing between purposes of group meals and infection control measures,” Kato said.
Suga and six senior officials of the ruling party assembled at a high-end steak restaurant on Monday night in Tokyo’s Ginza district. They were all 70 and above.
While leaving the restaurant, 76-year-old actor Ryotaro Sugi told the media that it was a “year-end party”, where they discussed baseball.
Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the members of the gathering took off masks to eat, but exercised caution.
Suga also met Haruyuki Takahashi, an executive of the Tokyo Games organising committee, a day later apart from two executives from a local television network at another steak restaurant.
Takahashi was instrumental in securing the support of a former Olympics powerbroker suspected by French prosecutors of accepting bribes to help Japan’s bid.