Japan’s government admitted Monday manipulating an official photo of the new cabinet to make its members look less unkempt, after online mockery of their sagging trousers.
Images taken by local media showed what appeared to be an untidy patch of white shirt under the morning suits of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
In the official photo issued by Ishiba’s office, these blemishes had mysteriously disappeared, but not quickly enough to stop a barrage of mockery of the “untidy cabinet” on social media.
They have actual scandals, but they are meticulous at cleaning them up and their journalism rarely exposes them fully.
But this one is adorable, and extremely Japanese in nature.