Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters on Aug. 10. (Pool)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will cancel his trip to Tunisia and visits to Middle East countries after testing positive for COVID-19 on Aug. 21, a senior government official said.

Kishida, 65, who is still suffering from a mild fever and coughing, plans to perform his duties while monitoring his condition during his 10-day recuperation period in the private quarters of the prime minister’s official residence until Aug. 30, the official said.

He was scheduled to leave for Tunisia on Aug. 25 to give a speech at the two-day Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) that starts on Aug. 27.

He is now considering attending the conference online, according to government officials.

The prime minister will also postpone his planned visit to Middle Eastern countries after the TICAD, they said.

Kishida took a summer holiday from the afternoon of Aug. 15, and played golf with his wife, Yuko, and other relatives in Tsukuba-Mirai, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Aug. 16.

He visited Izunokuni, Shizuoka Prefecture, with his family the following day for a two-night stay at a local ryokan inn.

He was scheduled to return to work on Aug. 22 after spending a day at the prime minister’s official residence on Aug. 20.

His family members who live with him were identified as his close contacts and need to self-isolate at home for at least three days.

Kishida received his fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot on Aug. 12.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno and Kishida’s secretaries have also tested positive since July.

(This article was written by Yuta Ogi and Anri Takahashi.)

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