Japan's health minister apologizes for big, late-night staff party in breach of COVID-19 requests

TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Health Minister Norihisa Tamura on Tuesday apologized for a party held by ministry officials that went late into the night despite government requests for businesses to shorten hours and for such gatherings to be avoided to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Tamura, who heads up the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, said the large farewell gathering involving 23 attendees and held at a restaurant in Tokyo's high-end Ginza district "betrayed the people's trust."

The large party held last Wednesday went on until around midnight, informed sources said.

"Twenty-three is an abnormal number of participants, and a huge problem," Tamura was quoted as saying at the parliament.

Tamura will now, of his own volition, not receive his ministerial wages for two months to take responsibility for his ministry breaching the Tokyo Metropolitan government's COVID-19 requests, the health ministry said.

The ministry added that the organizer of the party, director of the ministry's Division of the Health for the Elderly, will be sacked.

"It is extremely regrettable that the health ministry, which is in charge of the coronavirus response, was involved in such a case," the government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a press conference on the matter.

Jun Azumi, the Diet affairs chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, meanwhile described the gathering as "outrageous" and suggested that the responsibility lies with Tamura.

Other opposition lawmakers were also outraged over the matter, informed sources said.

Sources close to the matter said the restaurant was open until 11 p.m and was booked by the ministry members from 7:45 p.m. local time.

While the state of emergency for the Tokyo area had ended on March 21, the metropolitan government had still been requesting eating and drinking establishments to shorten their hours and close by 9 p.m. until April 21.

The attendees were reportedly chatting freely without wearing face masks and ignoring social distancing rules.

The central government's coronavirus task force has recommended limiting dining to a maximum of four people from a close circle.