Japan’s general election might be put on hold because it’s prime minister’s son had a party

Photos emerged online last week of Shotaro Kishida, the eldest son of Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, standing on the stairway of the leader’s official residence in Tokyo with a group of people understood to be relatives.

In another shot an individual—who is not believed to be Kishida—lies down on the stairs holding a drink.

The ornate red carpeted-stairs are understood to be a setting where cabinet ministers pose for official headshots, with the younger Kishida recreating a “cabinet of family” image in the same spot.

Kishida, who had been working as a secretary for his father, has resigned from his position following the revelation.

The photographs were reportedly taken during a New Year’s party with members of the prime minister’s family.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Prime Minister Kishida said: “His actions last year in an official space were inappropriate for a secretary who is in an official position, so I decided to replace him to draw a line under this.” 

The photographs were published in Bunshun Online, a weekly magazine, with an accompanying interview from an acquaintance of the younger Kishida.

The source said: “On this day, more than 10 relatives of the Kishida family gathered at the prime minister’s official residence and held a year-end party. Currently, prime minister Kishida lives with Mr Shotaro at his official residence. For the party, it must have been a mood of ‘I came to visit my relative’s house.’”

“It comes across as offensive and I guess arrogant,” said Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “In terms of the sense that you have a rather incestuous group of people, nepotism ruling Japan, personalizing power and private usage of the public space.”

Fortune has contacted the Japanese embassy for comment.

Election impact

Far beyond family hijinks, the 32-year-old’s actions may have had an impact on Japan’s entire election cycle.

Whispers of an early election had been swirling thanks to the Japanese prime minister enjoying popularity in the polls, particularly after hosting the G7 Summit in his hometown of Hiroshima.

Kishida’s popularity had increased by nine percentage points in some polls as the summit got underway on May 19, as he not only chaired meetings that looked at global economic and environmental issues, but also hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy—establishing Kishida as a prominent figure on the world stage.

The boost lead many experts to believe a snap election would be called within weeks.

Airo Hino, a professor of political science at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told Reuters, “He’s going to want to do it at the best timing, to give him good results in the Liberal Democratic Party race, to give him a mandate.”

Without a snap election, the next vote would be in 2025.

Now it seems that hope of capitalizing on the G7 success may have been undermined by the images, with Kishida’s popularity tanking since the pictures were published.

Shotaro Kishida, the son of the Prime Minister, appointed by his father as secretary, held a year-end party at the prime minister’s official residence with his relatives and enjoyed taking pictures in public spaces. Photos of him lying on the staircase have gone viral. #JAPANEWS pic.twitter.com/6WyvMWgUgk

— ????JapaNews???? (@dascrazyjapan) May 29, 2023

A poll by Nikkei Asia reported that Kishida’s approval rating had slipped for the first time in five months after the images were released, falling five percentage points to 47%.

In a separate poll carried out by Asahi Shimbun, a combined 76% of respondents said it was problematic for the prime minister’s son to hold a year-end party at the official residence.

Opposition opportunity

Kishida’s rivals have leapt on the opportunity to denounce their prime minister.

According to local reports Kenta Izumi, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, told reporters Kishida’s son’s resignation came as no surprise following his repeated mixing of public and private affairs.

Izumi is referring to reports from earlier in the year when the younger Kishida used an official car to travel around Paris, with critics alleging it was for sightseeing.

The Japanese premier came to his son’s defense, saying the car was being used for “official duties”.

Akira Koike, who heads the Japanese Communist Party’s secretariat, has also weighed in on the controversy—questioning why Kishida appointed his child to a government role in the first place.

Nobuyuki Baba, head of Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), said the scandal showed that the 32-year-old was out of touch with the Japanese populous, and advised him to go door-to-door around Hiroshima—his father’s constituency—to learn about how the public feel and think.