Spouses of the Group of 20 leaders pose for a photo at Kyoto's Tofukuji Temple on June 28, 2019, the first day of the G20 summit in Osaka. (Pool photo) (Kyodo)

The cultural program was sponsored by the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Akie Abe.

A total of 18 spouses, including French President Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte, had Japanese lunch and tea in the afternoon in Kyoto, near Osaka. The excursion was hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife Akie.

Arriving at Tofuku-ji, a Buddhist temple in the city's Higashiyama Ward, the spouses strolled around its premises and took rickshaws, remaining there beyond the scheduled time.

The spouses of the leaders fed the Koi fish, which are considered to be one of the symbols of Japan.

VNF/Kyodo