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TOKYO (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has come under fire for joining year-end social gatherings after imploring residents to avoid those parties as the country records a record number of coronavirus cases.
Despite his own public warnings against large group dining, Suga went ahead with a series of meetings this week, drawing criticism from politicians and social media users, including his party’s coalition partner.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the country’s economy minister in charge of coronavirus policies, defended Suga’s meetings and told Parliament on Wednesday (December 16) that there was no rule imposed on group meals.
As they left the restaurant, a 76-year-old actor, Ryotaro Sugi, told reporters that it was a “year-end party” where they talked about baseball.
Another attendee, Toshihiro Nikai, general secretary of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the dinner guests removed their masks to eat, but were careful enough.
A day later, Suga met with Haruyuki Takahashi, an executive from the Tokyo Games organizing committee, and two executives from a local television network at another steakhouse, local media reported.
Takahashi played a key role in securing the support of an Olympic Games ex-power suspected by French prosecutors of taking bribes to help Japan’s bid, Reuters previously reported.
Suga’s departures came after the government abruptly halted a government travel subsidy program it had long advocated, the latest dispute that overshadowed his first months in power.
The setbacks have raised questions about the longevity of Suga’s term, government officials say, and could complicate his ability to implement difficult reforms.
“The prime minister’s program has a message for the people, so I would like to see it duly considered,” said Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of the ruling party’s junior partner Komeito.
Relations between the ruling party and Komeito have come under pressure after a clash over medical bills for the elderly earlier this month.
“I think there is a widening gulf between the two groups compared to when Suga’s cabinet was started,” a source close to Komeito, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
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