Unkempt cabinet gets minor edit

Japan's government admitted on Monday of manipulating an official photo of the new cabinet to make its members look less unkempt, after online mockery of their sagging trousers.

Images taken by local media showed what appeared to be an untidy patch of white shirt under the morning suits of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.

In the official photo issued by Ishiba's office, these blemishes had mysteriously disappeared, but not quickly enough to stop a barrage of mockery of the "untidy cabinet" on social media.

"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 said, while seeking to deflect criticism. "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.