A member of the House of Representatives has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and been admitted to a hospital, the lower house's secretariat said Friday, the first confirmed infection of a Japanese lawmaker.
Shuichi Takatori, who belongs to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, developed a fever of more than 37 degrees on Friday morning, which has since subsided, and the results of an antigen test came back positive, according to his office.
The 59-year-old had attended the lower house plenary session on Wednesday, where Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was elected, and afterward greeted former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai.
Takatori, a four-term lower house member representing a constituency in Niigata Prefecture, has previously served as senior vice agriculture minister and senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office.
As Abe's special aide, he delivered a ritual offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine on Aug. 15, the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
