Furious Japanese officials were forced to edit an official photo of the government because of the ‘scruffy’ looking ministers.
The photographs were released by the Japanese government to commemorate the first meeting of the brand new cabinet.
In the pictures the recently installed Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, can be seen stood shoulder to shoulder with his colleagues as he unveiled the ministers he has chosen to run Japan.
With just weeks before the country goes to the polls, the new government does not have long to introduce itself.
However, in their first crucial introduction to the country, a slight wardrobe malfunction has led to online ridicule among the Japanese public after the official photos were hastily edited.
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 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.
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.