Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is being criticized online by people in Japan for his “bad manners” after footage of the APEC forum summit in Peru showed him greeting other leaders while remaining seated.
Footage showed Ishiba checking his smartphone while seated as leaders including Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim approached him. Ishiba looked up from his phone and shook hands but did not stand up.
“So embarrassing,” posted one social media user in Japanese, while another said, “It’s not even about being prime minister. His attitude is unthinkable for an adult.”
The prime minister was also accused of rudeness after other footage showed him watching a dance at the welcome ceremony for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit with his arms crossed.
Ishiba made his diplomatic debut as Japan’s leader last month at summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos.
