A group of 23 officials from the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry attended a farewell party at an izakaya pub in Tokyo's Ginza district on March 24 that lasted until midnight.
The party took place three days after the state of emergency ended and during a time when the Tokyo metropolitan government has asked restaurants and other establishments to shutter at 9 p.m. All of the officials, who hail from the ministry's Health and Welfare Bureau for the Elderly, left the restaurant around 11:50 p.m.
"This should not have happened while we are asking the public to help prevent the spread of infection," a ministry official said. "We are very sorry."
The soiree started just after 7 p.m., and officials trickled in as they finished work. A total of 23 people ended up participating in the event.
The government has called for people to exercise caution over "group get-togethers involving drinking" and "eating and drinking in large groups for long periods of time" as these situations can increase the risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus. The health ministry has also instructed its officials not to eat in large groups after work.
Furthermore, the government has asked the public to eat and drink with no more than four people as much as possible, and to dine at establishments that have installed acrylic panels and recommend patrons to wear masks except when eating.
However, the health ministry partygoers went to a restaurant that had no acrylic panels, and they ate and drank without masks.
"I knew it wasn't a good idea, but we wanted to say goodbye to the officials who were being transferred," one of the people who attended the party told an investigation conducted by the bureau.
"It was a banquet with a very large number of people; an act that betrayed the public's trust," health minister Norihisa Tamura said with a bow at a press conference after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. "I deeply apologize."
Management officials from the section manager rank reportedly also attended the event, and the ministry has announced that it will investigate the matter and take action by Wednesday. The ministry will also probe whether there were any other large parties held by its officials.
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