First lady Akie Abe went on a private trip to Oita Prefecture and participated in a group tour in mid-March despite Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having warned the nation to stay vigilant over the global coronavirus pandemic the day before, a weekly magazine reported Thursday.
According to the Shukan Bunshun magazine, the first lady visited Usa Shrine in Oita Prefecture on March 15 along with about 50 people and took part in a Shinto ritual service.
An organizer of the tour, Dr. Tadashi Matsuhisa, told the magazine that she joined the group after she had contacted him and said, “I was thinking about going somewhere because coronavirus has cleared out my schedule.” She did not entirely take part in the tour and only joined it when the group visited the shrine, he said.