Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spent his first night at the official residence since taking office on Sunday despite rumors of ghostly apparitions.
According to Yomiuri Shimbun and other sources, Ishiba, appointed last October, had lived at the House of Representatives quarters, approximately 400 meters (0.25 miles) from the official residence. He has now relocated to the official residence to manage potential crises better.
The official residence underwent renovations, completed at the end of last year. It is just a one-minute walk from the House of Representatives quarters.
However, reports suggest that Ishiba and his wife will not completely vacate their previous accommodation at the House of Representatives quarters, opting to maintain it for now.
The Japanese Prime Minister’s official residence has a dark history. In 1936, it hosted a coup led by over 1,400 Japanese soldiers who advocated direct imperial rule. Since the coup’s failure, persistent rumors have circulated that ghosts have appeared in the residence.
Addressing these rumors, Ishiba stated, “I’m from the Ghost Q-taro generation, so I’m not scared. It might be scary if I actually saw it, but I’m not too concerned.” He referenced a popular 1960s comic featuring the ghost character Q-taro.
The official residence has been in use since former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s tenure in 2005. While most successive prime ministers have resided there, Shinzo Abe commuted from his Tokyo home during his second administration, and Yoshihide Suga chose to commute from the members’ quarters.
After nine years, Fumio Kishida used the official residence in December 2021. However, in 2023, he unexpectedly left the residence in the middle of the night and stayed at a hotel for undisclosed reasons. The government explained that the residence’s facilities had malfunctioned, but this fueled speculation that ghosts might be the reason.
The residence has consistently been reported as uncomfortably cold or too spacious, leading to feelings of unease among its occupants.
