Japan: PM Sanae Takaichi Felt Lonely After Staff Removed a Cockroach From Her Residence

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has shared an unexpected personal story from the country’s official residence, revealing that after she refused to kill a cockroach found inside, and staff eventually removed it themselves, she surprisingly felt a sense of loneliness. Takaichi, who moved into the residence in December, shared the story while answering questions from social media users.
Despite working long hours and frequently spending weekends at the official residence, Takaichi said she has never encountered the ghosts rumored to haunt the building. Instead, her unexpected visitor turned out to be a cockroach that suddenly darted past her feet. But she chose not to kill it. A longtime fan of Osamu Tezuka’s classic manga series “Phoenix,” Takaichi said its themes of reincarnation and the interconnection of lives have influenced her since childhood. She wrote: “About that cockroach that ran through the official residence — I thought perhaps this life too was part of that long chain of reincarnation.”
However, she decided to wait for it to leave on its own — but her secretaries had other ideas. According to reports, one of them declared: “This is unclean. I’ll take care of it.” What followed was a plan Takaichi jokingly called “Operation Combat Action,” and the cockroach was removed. Afterward, Takaichi wrote: “I felt relieved, but also a bit lonely — or perhaps sad.”
The post also offered a glimpse into Takaichi’s work habits. She said she prefers using the official residence over the prime minister’s office because it reduces the burden on staff and security personnel, and that she generally prefers small meetings.
The 65-year-old prime minister is known for working late into the night and through weekends, often getting by on very little sleep. In July, she revealed that after typically sleeping zero to three hours a night since taking office, she finally managed to get five hours of sleep. Her posts came after reports questioned how often she attends parliamentary sessions and how much time she works from the residence. Nikkei reported that she spent more than half her weekends and public holidays at the residence since becoming prime minister, while Bloomberg found she has held fewer cabinet meetings than any Japanese prime minister since 2012. The reports came as her approval rating dropped to 41%, down 10 percentage points in a month and below 50% for the first time since her election victory in February.