Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi reveals she felt 'lonely' when staff exterminated residence cockroach

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sparked widespread amusement and disbelief after admitting that she felt "a little lonely" when her aides stepped in to remove a cockroach from her official residence.

The bizarre confession came during a series of candid late-night posts on X (formerly Twitter), where Takaichi was defending her routine of spending long, solitary hours working from the historic Tokyo residence—known locally as the kotei.

While previous Japanese prime ministers famously avoided the 1920s brick mansion over longstanding rumors that it is haunted following deadly 1930s coup attempts, Takaichi noted that ghosts were the least of her worries.

“I’ve never seen a ghost, but I scream when I see a cockroach,” Takaichi wrote, admitting she was startled when an insect darted across her feet.

Takaichi shared the unusual anecdote over the weekend (JIJI Press / AFP via Getty Images)

Spared Over 'Reincarnation'

Rather than squashing the pest, however, the prime minister explained that she intentionally allowed it to roam the residence.

Takaichi revealed that her reverence for living creatures—strongly shaped by reading the legendary manga artist Osamu Tezuka’s classic work Phoenix—made her reluctant to take any insect's life.

“Maybe because of that, even now as an adult, I can’t bring myself to kill insects, cockroaches included,” she wrote. “Maybe this life is also part of that long cycle of reincarnation."

A staple of several religions and cultures, reincarnation hinges on the belief that life, death, and rebirth form an endless circle, with living things being 'reborn' once their lifetime reaches its conclusion.

Her staff, however, did not share her philosophical mercy. After seeing her surprise around the residence, her secretary took executive action and discreetly arranged for pest control treatments to be laid around the building.

“For a while, I endured it, hoping it would somehow leave on its own—but when I told my secretaries about it, they were appalled,” Takaichi wrote. “‘It’s unclean. I’ll handle it,’ one of the secretaries said firmly, and arranged for Operation Combat.”

There was an unexpected house guest living in the Japanese PM's residence (Getty Stock)

A Surprisingly 'Lonely' Residence

Once the extermination took effect and the insects vanished, the leader admitted she had mixed feelings about the sudden silence in the vast mansion.

“I was relieved, but somehow I felt a little lonely after the staff removed the cockroach,” she admitted.

The unusual anecdote quickly went viral across international news platforms, sparking widespread discussion on social media and international reporting from outlets like Ground News and The Straits Times.

While some readers found her bizarre roommate musings endearing, critics questioned whether a world leader should be waxing poetic about residence pests amid serious domestic policy debates.

Regardless of the political chatter, Takaichi made one thing clear: her official residence is bug-free, even if she misses the company.