Japan PM Sanae Takaichi says life at the top can be lonely, opens up about a cockroach

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has offered an unusually personal glimpse into life at the country's official residence, saying that a seemingly trivial encounter with a cockroach left her feeling unexpectedly "lonely" after staff eventually removed it.

Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister, shared the story in a series of social media posts while responding to questions about the residence, where she moved in December.

Despite working long hours and often spending weekends at the official residence, Takaichi said she had never encountered the ghosts that are reportedly associated with the building. Instead, her unexpected visitor was a cockroach.

Cockroach: A companion for long work days

Takaichi said she had been shocked when the insect suddenly ran past her feet despite her efforts to keep the residence clean.

But she chose not to kill it. A lifelong fan of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix manga, Takaichi said its themes of reincarnation and the interconnectedness of life had influenced her since childhood. "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,'" she wrote.

She decided to wait and hope the insect would eventually leave on its own. Her secretaries had other ideas.

One of them reportedly declared, "It's unclean. I'll handle it," before organising what Takaichi jokingly called "Operation Combat".

The cockroach was removed and, according to the prime minister, the sightings stopped. "I felt relieved, but also a little lonely, or maybe sad," Takaichi wrote.

Takaichi prefers working alone

The posts also offered a window into Takaichi's working habits. She said she prefers using the official residence rather than the prime minister's office because it reduces the burden on staff and security personnel.

"I have made it a point to actively utilise the prime minister's residence," she wrote, explaining that doing so allows her to keep the number of staff and special police officers involved to a minimum.

She also said she generally prefers smaller meetings, with only the relevant secretary or staff member coming to the residence when an in-person discussion is necessary.

Japan PM's extreme work schedule

The 65-year-old prime minister has developed a reputation for working late into the night and through weekends, often surviving on very little sleep. In July, she said she had finally managed to get five hours of sleep after routinely getting between zero and three hours since taking office.

Personal posts come amid political scrutiny

Takaichi's posts came after reports questioning how frequently she attended parliamentary sessions and how much time she spent working from the residence.

According to the material provided, Nikkei reported that she had spent more than half of her weekends and public holidays at the residence since becoming prime minister, while Bloomberg found that she had held the fewest cabinet meetings of any Japanese prime minister since 2012.

The reports come as her approval rating has also fallen. A poll last month put her support at 41 per cent, down 10 percentage points in a month and below 50 per cent for the first time since her February election victory.