Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi moves into the official residence, a site of historical coups and ghostly legends, after criticism over commute times.
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has moved into the prime minister’s official residence, a building with a reputation for being haunted.
The move comes more than two months after she took office, having previously stayed in parliamentary accommodation.
Takaichi drew criticism for taking 35 minutes to reach her office following a major earthquake in early December.
The stone-and-brick mansion, which adjoins her offices in central Tokyo, opened in 1929.
Its architectural style was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s since-demolished Imperial Hotel.
The residence was the site of two attempted coups in the 1930s, where several top officials including a prime minister were assassinated.
At least one bullet hole remains, and the ghosts of those involved are believed by some to still roam the hallways.
Takaichi’s predecessor Shigeru Ishiba also lived at the renovated residence and said he wasn’t afraid of ghosts.
Before him, Fumio Kishida reported seeing no phantoms and sleeping soundly.
Former premiers Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga both lived elsewhere, leaving the residence unoccupied for nine years until 2021.
Takaichi, 64, came to power pledging to “work, work, work, work and work”.
She has said she is too busy to sleep more than two to four hours a night since taking office.
