The weekly photo magazine Friday published a closeup picture of the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi taken apparently after he suffered a massive stroke and fell into a coma on April 2.

The picture, featured in the issue that went on sale Friday, shows Obuchi, who died Sunday, six weeks after he collapsed, lying in a hospital bed attached to an artificial respirator in the intensive care unit of Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward.

The magazine does not specify the date of the photo, but medical sources believe the picture was taken shortly after Obuchi was moved into the ICU on April 2.

The magazine stated that it published the "shocking" picture because Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki has failed to make clear how Obuchi, amid a reportedly deteriorated state of consciousness, was able to appoint him acting prime minister. Aoki maintains that his appointment was legitimate.

An official at Obuchi's office blasted the publication of the photo, calling it outrageous, but declined to make further comment on whether legal action is being planned because Obuchi's family and the office is in mourning.

In a news conference Friday, Aoki said it would have been impossible for anyone from outside to sneak into the ICU with a camera and take a picture, because security officials were guarding the door to Obuchi's room.

Aoki, who met with Obuchi on the evening of April 2, said he had to remove his shoes and change into a sterilized gown before entering the ICU.

Cabinet men to stay

Three members of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet said Friday they have no intention of leaving a pro-Shinto group of legislators, from which Mori himself said he will stay away for now.

Justice Minister Hideo Usui, who serves as secretary of the lawmakers' group linked to Shinto Seiji Renmei, Education Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and Home Affairs Minister Kosuke Hori said they do not see any problem with staying in the group.

"I am a member of many groups of Diet members and take up various roles. The Shinto league is one of them, and I do not find it problematic relative to my positions in other groups," Justice Minister Hideo Usui, who serves as secretary of the lawmakers' group linked to Shinto Seiji Renmei, told a news conference.

Nakasone told a separate news conference that he has not taken part in the group's activities since he became education minister last October. "As a Cabinet minister in charge of religious groups, I try not to incur misunderstandings," he said.

Hori said, "I believe it is necessary for a lawmaker to hold a wide range of contacts with people in religious groups."

Mori said Thursday he will stay away from any legislators' groups while he serves as prime minister, following a barrage of criticism over a remark he made in a meeting of the pro-Shinto group.

Mori had earlier indicated he saw no need to quit the group, but reportedly changed his mind on the suggestion of Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki.

Mori said he will stay away from the group because he will no longer be able to attend its gatherings as long as he is prime minister, according to government sources.

On Monday evening, at a meeting of the Shintoist league, Mori said: "Japan is a divine nation centering on the Emperor. We have been working for 30 years to have people firmly acknowledge that."

The "divine nation" remark was, for many, a disturbing echo of Japan's nationalist fervor before and during the war, and drew furious responses from the opposition and disapproval from some members of his own Cabinet.

Mori apologized in the Diet on Wednesday "for causing misunderstandings" but has refused to withdraw the remark itself.