Shotaro Kishida, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida＊s eldest son and his executive secretary, is in the hot seat over media reports that he went shopping and sightseeing in Europe, Canada and the U.S. using official vehicles when he accompanied the prime minister to those places in January.

On Tuesday, the prime minister acknowledged that Shotaro Kishida, 32, had shopped at the Harrods department store in London to purchase souvenirs for all Cabinet ministers.

※He bought them (on my behalf) for all the ministers ... and (I paid for them) out of my own pocket,§ Fumio Kishida told a Lower House Budget Committee session.

※Buying souvenirs on behalf of the prime minister, who is a politician, would be included among the duties for political secretaries,§ Fumio Kishida said when asked whether such a task would be considered part of the executive secretary＊s official duties.

Fumio Kishida visited France, Italy, the U.K., Canada and the United States from Jan. 9 to 15 to gain support for hosting the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima in May.

Last week, citing government sources, the Shukan Shincho weekly news magazine reported that Shotaro Kishida went on sightseeing tours in Paris, London and Ottawa using embassy vehicles during the five-nation trip.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara said Friday that there was ※nothing inappropriate§ about Shotaro Kishida＊s activities as executive secretary.

Kihara said Shotaro Kishida＊s activities had three purposes:

  • Visiting international organizations and think tanks and exchanging views with their officials

  • Taking pictures of landmarks and places to use as PR materials for the prime minister＊s trip

  • Buying souvenirs on behalf of the prime minister

※Nothing was done for personal sightseeing or shopping purposes,§ Kihara said.

Shotaro Kishida became the executive secretary to the prime minister in October, replacing the veteran Takashi Shimada, who previously served as vice trade minister.

Fumio Kishida is reportedly trying to help Shotaro follow in his footsteps as a politician, but making him executive secretary has triggered criticism of cronyism given his son＊s relative inexperience.

※We all need to take into consideration that people are watching our actions and act accordingly,§ Hiroshi Kajiyama, deputy secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said during a news conference Tuesday.