Images taken at the prime minister’s residence show Shotaro Kishida, who has been working as his father’s secretary, standing with others on an ornate red-carpeted staircase used to take official portraits of cabinet ministers. In another, a man who doesn’t appear to be Shotaro is lying on the stairs, holding what may be a drink.
The premier had already reprimanded his son over the incident, but a poll carried out by the Asahi newspaper over the weekend showed three quarters of respondents saw Shotaro’s behavior as a problem. A separate poll by the Nikkei newspaper showed Kishida’s support had fallen by five percentage points to 47%.
Kishida’s son, who local media say is 32, previously came under fire over a report that he used a government car to go sightseeing in Paris during his father’s visit there in January. Government officials said at the time he had been engaged in government business and had not done anything inappropriate.
There are other problems overshadowing his prospects in any early vote, which will take place following a redrawing of constituency boundaries to reflect the ongoing drift from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s rural strongholds to urban areas.