Kishida's Eldest Son Held Year-End Party at Official Residence

Tokyo, May 25 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's eldest son, Shotaro, secretary to the national leader, has been found to have held a year-end party at the prime minister's official residence last December, causing a fresh stir in the political world.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno revealed this at a press conference Thursday, admitting the truth of a report in the issue of weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun published the same day. Kishida has given a stern warning to Shotaro, 32, according to the top government spokesman.

"It would be very regrettable if (Shotaro's actions) cause distrust among the public," Kishida told reporters at the prime minister's office while denying that he intends to sack Shotaro as his secretary. "The actions reported in the magazine are not appropriate. I want (Shotaro) to act with a sense of tension."

According to the report and explanations by Matsuno, Shotaro invited at least 10 relatives to the prime minister's official residence on Dec. 30, 2022, and held a year-end party. The prime minister himself showed up and greeted the participants while they were dining in the private living quarters of the residence in Tokyo.

"It's not particularly problematic to dine together with relatives in the private living quarters," Matsuno said. "The prime minister gave the stern warning after learning" from the magazine report that Shotaro used the residence's public quarters, including for photo shooting, he explained.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]