Japan’s Premier Takaichi moves into PM’s official residence
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An initial heavy diplomatic and parliamentary schedule pushed back Ms Sanae Takaichi's (first row, centre) move to the prime minister’s official residence, say sources.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO - Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi relocated to the prime minister’s official residence on Dec 29, two months after she took office
Since becoming Japan’s first female prime minister in October, Ms Takaichi has travelled to the premier’s office by car from her Parliament members’ dormitory in Tokyo’s Akasaka district minutes away.
Ms Takaichi had planned to move to the official residence, about a minute’s walk from the premier’s office, soon after starting the job.
However, an initial heavy diplomatic and parliamentary schedule pushed back the relocation, according to sources around the Prime Minister.
Ms Takaichi’s previous living arrangements were criticised by the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader and former prime minister Yoshihiko Noda after she arrived at the office around 35 minutes after a powerful earthquake struck north-eastern Japan
The Prime Minister was delayed at the time after her official car did not show up, and she was driven to the office by a protection officer.
Ms Takaichi’s immediate predecessor Shigeru Ishiba moved into the building around three months into the job, while former premier Fumio Kishida did so after about two months.
Her earlier predecessors Yoshihide Suga and Shinzo Abe did not live in the residence, leaving it unoccupied for around nine years until 2021. KYODO NEWS
