Japan PM Says She Felt Lonely After Cockroach Was Killed In Her Office

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has revealed that she was left with an unexpected feeling of loneliness after staff members eliminated cockroaches from her official residence in Tokyo.

Takaichi made the unusual revelation in a post on X on August 22 while responding to a question she is often asked about whether she had encountered the ghosts reportedly said to haunt the prime minister’s official residence.

The 65-year-old prime minister said she had never seen a ghost. Instead, she said her experience at the residence involved something considerably more tangible cockroaches.

According to Takaichi, she was startled when a cockroach suddenly ran across her feet despite her efforts to keep the residence clean.

She said she regularly wiped the floor beneath her dining table, placed food waste in a covered bin and washed and sorted plastic containers to maintain a clean environment.

However, Takaichi said she could not bring herself to kill the insects, partly because of the influence of Phoenix, a manga by the late Japanese artist Osamu Tezuka, which explores themes including life, death and reincarnation.

Her secretaries, apparently less philosophical about the situation, were alarmed when she told them about the cockroaches.

One of them reportedly told her, “It’s unclean. I’ll handle it,” before arranging for pest control to be carried out at the official residence.

The intervention appeared to work, as the cockroaches stopped appearing.

While Takaichi said she was relieved that the problem had been dealt with, she admitted that she also experienced an unexpected emotional reaction.

“I felt relieved, but also a little lonely, or maybe sad,” she said.

Takaichi has also drawn attention for increasingly using the official residence as a workplace. She said living next to her office allows her to avoid commuting and makes it easier for her to respond quickly when emergencies arise.