- Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi encountered cockroaches at her official residence, not ghosts
- She avoids killing insects, influenced by Osamu Tezuka's reincarnation concept in Phoenix manga
- Secretaries launched pest control, ending the cockroach problem but making her feel lonely
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had a recent run-in with a cockroach at her official residence but found herself unexpectedly "lonely" and "sad" after the pest was gone. The 65-year-old Japanese leader, known for her active presence on social media, detailed the shocking incident while answering questions about the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo.
Taking to X, Takaichi noted that one of the questions she often encounters is, "Have you already met the ghosts that are said to appear in the official residence?"
The inquiry is rooted in legends that the PM's official residence was haunted by spirits of people who died during two bloody coup attempts in the 1930s. Takaichi moved into the official residence in December, a brick-and-stone mansion that opened in 1929 and used to be the original prime minister's office until its replacement was built right next to it.
The Cockroach Problem
Answering, Takaichi said that she has not seen any ghosts in the residence. However, she said that she encountered something that made her scream: cockroaches.
"I've never encountered a ghost, but until recently, I was the one screaming when I came across cockroaches," she wrote in a post made on August 22.
公邸について書きましたので、よく頂くご質問についても、お答えします。
— 高市早苗 (@takaichi_sanae) August 22, 2026
「公邸にはオバケが出るそうですが、もう会いましたか？」
私は、オバケに会ったことは無いのですが、先日までは、ゴキブリに会って叫び声を上げていました。…
She noted that when she lived in the members' dormitory, she never had an encounter with cockroaches.
"Even after moving to the official residence, I carefully wiped down the floor under the dining table, put food scraps in a sturdy lidded garbage can, and washed and sorted plastic containers, so I was shocked when, one day, a cockroach suddenly scurried past my feet," she recounted.
Takaichi explained that she has been influenced by the concept of reincarnation in Osamu Tezuka's manga Phoenix and was unable to "bring myself to kill insects, including cockroaches."
"For the cockroach that ran through the official residence, I thought things like, "Maybe this life is also part of that long cycle of reincarnation," and for a while, I endured it, hoping it would somehow leave on its own," she wrote,
But, according to the prime minister, when she told her secretaries about the pest problem, they were appalled.
""It's unclean. I'll handle it," one of the secretaries said firmly, and arranged for Operation Combat. After that, the cockroaches stopped appearing," she wrote.
"I felt relieved, but also a little lonely, or maybe sad," Takaichi added.
Sanae Takaichi's Work From Home
Takaichi, who is increasingly seen secluding herself at home, last week said that she is using her official residence next to her office more for work to maximise efficiency.
Takaichi said on X that living in the official residence, or "kotei," is good because its proximity requires no commute and lets her immediately get down to work in time of an emergency.
She said she has reinforced office functions at the residence so she can work and have meetings there remotely or in person with her staff whenever needed, even after office hours. She also takes home documents to read.
"To me, the official residence is also a workplace," she said.
But Takaichi, whose work mantra and her recent revelation on X of zero to three hours of sleep at night because of her homemaking burden on top of her heavy workload as prime minister, triggered criticisms that Japan's first female leader was setting a wrong example for work-life balance and gender equality.
The Japanese premier has seen her support ratings rapidly drop as she pushed unpopular policies such as a revision to the Imperial House Law to reinforce a male-only succession system, while delaying economic measures to address rising prices.
Media reports have said that the PM was avoiding parliamentary sessions and largely holed up at the residence at night and on weekends, saying that she's having significantly fewer interactions with other lawmakers and officials than her predecessors. Takaichi frequently posts comments and policies on X instead of talking to the media.
