Photo/Illutration Yasutoshi Nishimura in September 2021 when he served as the government's point man in dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A state minister whose hobby was to surreptitiously snap photos of “beautiful women from around the world” quietly deleted the images from his website after weekly magazines began contacting his office about the content, putting him at risk of becoming embroiled in a major scandal.

Yasutoshi Nishimura at one time headed the central government effort against the novel coronavirus pandemic while concurrently serving as the state minister in charge of economic revitalization. He is still a member of the Lower House.

Prior to serving in that post, Nishimura was in the habit of taking photos of women in Japan and from around the world whom he regarded as beautiful and posting them on his website.

“The photos were deleted because we were informed by some people that they felt uncomfortable about the content,” his office said in a statement. 

Some of the photos were taken without the permission of the woman, sources said.

During business trips overseas, Nishimura often took photos in public of scenery and people he found attractive, an office representative said.

The office explained that the photo page has not been updated since August 2017, but that social media posts from around late May this year led to a barrage of media inquiries, leading to its deletion.

Some of the social media posts expressed discomfort at the initial notes included with the photos that seemed to view the women in a demeaning manner.

Related News