“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,” one user wrote on X.
“Minor editing was made,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday, while seeking to deflect criticism of the manipulation.
“Group photos during official events of the prime minister’s office, such as the Cabinet reshuffle, will be preserved forever as memorabilia, so minor editing is customarily performed on these photos,” he said.
In March, Catherine, Britain’s Princess of Wales, apologised and said she had edited a photo with her children released by the palace.
The Mother’s Day portrait of a smiling Kate included several inconsistencies and sparked a storm after major news agencies including AFP withdrew the photo saying it had been manipulated.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Kate said in a statement.
“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
