Japan PM Updates Shared via Public Affairs Secretary on X

Tokyo, June 22 (Jiji Press)–Kozo Saiki, Japan’s cabinet secretary for public affairs, has been actively sharing Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s daily updates on an X account launched earlier this month. Saiki is believed to be supporting the Takaichi administration by explaining policies and sharing photos of her smiling and interacting with other leaders. But the move, unusual for a cabinet secretary for public affairs, has attracted criticism from the opposition camp. A post by Saiki, featuring a photo of Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron shaking hands, said that Macron, who chaired a three-day Group of Seven summit in France from June 15, welcomed G7 leaders. Following a month-long trial, Saiki started full-scale use of the X account on June 2. He has said he aims to share information about the prime minister “in a timely and flexible way from the viewpoint of a cabinet secretary for public affairs” who works closely with the prime minister. The account has also posted moments rarely covered by Japanese media during the prime minister’s overseas visits. Its follower count has exceeded 130,000. Some posts have received over 20,000 likes. In 2017, at the age of 42, Saiki took the position of executive secretary to the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, working as his speechwriter. Saiki was given the post 14 years earlier than his predecessor. Under the Takaichi administration, his posts are causing some concern. When claims circulated on social media that the prime minister had said it was “so annoying” in response to reporters’ questions about a video defamation issue, he wrote: “I checked with the prime minister about this. She said, Will it be okay? because she had her next engagement coming up.” Renho, a lawmaker of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan in the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, the country’s parliament, said, “Is this explanation acceptable?” She suggested that it might be an overly convenient explanation for the prime minister and that it might not be good for the people. Saiki sometimes rebuts media reports about the prime minister. A mid-ranking member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said it was good to respond in a timely way. A senior government official, however, said, “It won’t be good if the posts cause an online backlash.” “We’re getting many responses,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference on Friday, referring to the X account. “It’s important to work on effective information sharing, including attempts to post a variety of content that has never been posted before.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]