Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, elected in October, has expressed his intention to live in his official residence despite persistent rumors that the house is “haunted”.
Originally built in 1929, the two-storey, 5,183 square meter stone and brick mansion was initially built as the Prime Minister’s Office. Its Art Deco design symbolized Japan’s transition to modernism in the early 20th century. It was inspired by the architectural style of the Imperial Hotel, which was designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The Imperial Hotel, completed in 1923, famously withstood the Great Kanto earthquake, which devastated much of Tokyo.
The building has been the site of many tumultuous events in Japanese political history. In 1932, then-Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai was assassinated in the building by young naval officers during an attempted coup. This event marked a dark turn in Japan’s political trajectory toward militarism. Four years later, another military mutiny occurred at that location. Then-Prime Minister Keisuke Okada narrowly escaped assassination by hiding in a closet, although five people were shot dead during the rebellion. The bullet hole above one of the entrances reminds of these events.
After decades of wear and tear, the building underwent renovation, which was completed in 2005. The Japanese government spent approximately 8.6 billion yen to restore the mansion to its former grandeur, modernizing it into a living space for prime ministers. The restoration included the restoration of the intricate wood carvings and ornate rooms, as well as preserving its distinctive stone owl carving that stands guard outside the building.
Since 2005, the residence officially serves as the home of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister’s residence has long been associated with ghost stories. These rumors mainly stem from its violent history. Yasuko Hata, wife of former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, recounted her horrific experiences during the residence in a 1996 memoir. She described feeling a “terrible and oppressive presence” and claimed to have seen the shadows of military officers in the garden during the night.
Yoshiro Mori, another former prime minister, reportedly told Shinzo Abe that he had encountered ghosts in the residence. Despite these accounts, government officials have repeatedly dismissed the rumors. In 2013, during Shinzo Abe’s second term as Prime Minister, the government formally denied any knowledge of the hauntings after Abe’s decision not to live in the mansion was questioned.
Before the restoration was completed, an exorcism was conducted by a Shinto priest to cleanse the building of any spirits that were reportedly present.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, decided not to return to the mansion during his second term in office from 2012 to 2020. Instead, he lived in his private home in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. His decision was partly influenced by the prestige of the mansion and its association with political instability. From 2006 to 2007, during his first term as Prime Minister, there have been six Prime Ministers in the mansion, each of whom served for relatively short periods, averaging just over a year.
Abe’s successor Yoshihide Suga also chose to live in residence.
Fumio Kishida, who became prime minister in December 2021, broke the trend by moving into a mansion. When Kishida was asked about ghosts, he replied dismissively, saying that he had not encountered any and had slept well throughout the night.
