Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters at a press conference Monday that “minor editing was done” to the photo, adding that slight touch-ups were customary in official group shots.
“Group photos taken at official events at the prime minister’s office will remain as commemorative photos for the individual for a long time,” he said, according to Japanese media.
It’s not the first high-profile Photoshop fail this year.
British royal Kate Middleton was forced to publicly apologize in March for the clumsy editing of a family photograph after the world’s top media agencies pulled the photo offline after raising concerns that it had been “altered.”
The bungle fueled conspiracy theories about Princess Kate, who announced a little over a week later that she had been diagnosed with cancer.
Japan last week swore in a new prime minister after former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he would not contest his party’s leadership election following a series of corruption scandals and slumping public approval ratings. His replacement, Ishiba, called a snap election for later this month.
“I believe it’s important for the new administration to be judged by the people as soon as possible,” he said. (Though he probably didn’t have Photoshop in mind.)
