Japan’s Prime Minister Residence: Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, elected in October, has expressed his desire to live in his official residence. However, the rumor that the Japanese Prime Minister’s residence is haunted has been going on for a long time. Spread over 5183 square metres, this two-storey stone and brick mansion was originally built in 1929 as the Prime Minister’s Office. Its Art Deco design reflects the modernism of Japan in the early 20th century. The design was inspired by the Samrat Hotel designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which was completed in the year 1923.
This building has been the site of many conflicts in Japanese political history.
The official residence of the Prime Minister has been the site of many conflicts in Japanese political history. In 1932, the then Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai was assassinated in this residence by young naval officers during a mutiny. Four years after this incident, another military rebellion broke out at the same place. Then the then Prime Minister Keisuke Okada saved his life by hiding in a cupboard, although five people were killed during this rebellion. The mark of a bullet during the rebellion of that time still remains above the entrance of the building.
Prime Minister’s residence officially built in 2005
After several decades of disuse, the renovation work of this building was completed in 2005. The Japanese government spent approximately 8.6 billion yen to refurbish it and make it a residence for the Prime Minister. Since 2005, this building officially became the Prime Minister’s residence.
Share your experiences with former PM’s wife
Yasuko Hata, wife of former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, told about her experiences while living in this residence in 1996. He felt a “strange and eerie presence” there and had also seen the figures of military officers in the garden at night. Another former PM Yoshiro Mori had also said that he had encountered ghosts in this residence.
However, despite these stories, government officials have repeatedly denied these rumours. In 2013, when Shinzo Abe was in his second term as Prime Minister, the government issued a formal statement. In which it was said that they had no knowledge of any kind of ghostly activities in the building. Let us tell you that before the renovation, a ritual was also performed through a Shinto priest to expel the ghosts from the building.
Shinzo Abe, who served as Japan’s longest-serving PM, lived in his private home in Tokyo’s Shibuya district instead of the Prime Minister’s residence during his second term. Even Shinzo Abe’s successor Yoshihide Suga decided not to live here.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida broke this tradition
Fumio Kishida, who became the Prime Minister of Japan in the month of December 2021, broke this tradition and decided to live in the PM residence. When asked about ghosts, Kishida said that he did not encounter any.
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