Suga refuses to move into official residence despite criticism

Let's take this at face value - his wife wants privacy and Suga respects his wife. Well, let's hope so, anyway. Nice to know she can cook!

I dont get it. The official PM's residence is a huge modern glass clad structure built in 2002, not a 1929 structure.

https://japan.kantei.go.jp/vt/main/01/photo01_1.html

I see it often on NHK news.

Sell both properties if they aren't being used. Use the proceeds to fund more recreational and greenery projects in the capital. And let the PMs live in their own little apartments.

He may know that he will not be able to stay in the prime minister's residence long and has to return to his present diet member apartment house.

He have the idea the PM spot is only a ‘short-term’ position.

“*PM Suga said after taking office in mid-Sept he’s considering moving to the residence, and even refurbished at a cost of 4.39 million yen....) *But they later changed his mind. -

“160 million to maintain in fiscal 2020” - part of that was PM Abe’s (+Akie-san’s) tab?

Cost of renovations? This story should be right next to yesterday’s one about the woman who can only eat once a day and relies on food parcels.

Apparently it’s haunted and that’s why a few PMs have decided against living there in favour of somewhere else close by.

Old dinosaurs.

Akasaka Shukusha is close enough. Just down the hill past the hotel where the Beatles stayed and Hie Shrine.

Is good he stay with his wife. Is good emotional comfort. I don't think Suga is gonna run for next term anyway. This is one heck of a stressful job. Everyone eyes is on you. Make 1 mistake and the media will eat you alive and constantly hound at you. In my opinion nobody in their right mind would even want this job. Every little movement you make is being observe by others and they are just waiting for your downfall.

Maintenance fees totaled 160 million yen for fiscal 2020, even without Suga living there.

And the expense all comes out of our taxes!

For once, I support him.

A former PM was murdered there back in 1931 by riight wing military leaders.The feeling is the spot is haunted.

So it’s basically a 事故物件 (jiko bukken). Kind of understand him then.

Spent over 4 million yen to refurbish it and 160 million yen on maintenance even though he isn't living there..

What a wasteful selfish PM!

Ghosts living in it? They'll soon scarper as soon as Suga arrives I would !

Another reason for not moving in could be that by the time they have hung the curtains, he may be moving out...

The embarrassment of riches doesn't seem to be a thing among the Japan Inc. /LDP combine.

What am I to do with two luxurious residences renovated on the taxpayer yen?

While Japan does not follow other nations with rent forgiveness and freezes.

Renovate them into affordable shelters and food banks.

5,183 square meters of floor space?!?!!?? That’s almost 56,000 square feet!!!!! Of floor space! Did the journalist maybe mistake imperial for metric when reporting this size?? Holy moly!

Does it matter where Suga sleeps? Does the opposition have any other ideas other than were the PM calls home? The opposition is like a lot of the posters on this website. they refuse to think.

Is it because Abe is still in there pulling Suga’s strings...

What a waste of money, this fine property standing empty when there are so many people needing somewhere to live, who don't give a toss about ghosts. They should turn it into a shelter, and let all the PMs live in that flat.

Haha! Sounds like Ted Cruz; I can work from afar! Right. In a time of disaster, when the power goes out and the streets are littered with debris, just how are you going to get to work Mr. PM? Do you have full secure comm lines and a back up emergency generator to conduct all business if a shelter in place is required? Besides, since when does the wife dictate what's best for the nation?

A man who is considerate of his partner's wishes - specifically her desire for privacy in a world which is very cruel to women in the spotlight, is to be admired as an individual. Only a sexist sack of spittle would equate this with weakness rather than fairness.

So the wife can't have a private space in the 5,183-square-meter residence?

Can't understand why this news is taking up oxygen for all of us.

Is the place haunted? Just move in and be done with it! So many bigger issues to deal with it. It's not forever. It's a price you pay for being PM. If you don't accept it, step down!

Such a silly waste of time. Can't believe this!

Maybe a wise choice, Suga san could well be ousted before he unpacked.

If public opinion on his tenure in Government doesn't improve.

On another thought...maybe it is a hassle to move house, fail the Olympics, lose his unelected job, and then have move all his stuff back again, while have stress running a badly running a country of 126m?

“...drawing criticism that he could be slow to respond in event of a crisis.”

has nothing to do with where he lives. He’s slow to respond to things because he’s an extremely poor leader who’s best efforts at doing something new are to stand up for what his predecessor did.

He knows he’s a very temporary PM, why waste time moving.

Arubaito PM

(Oft repeated)

Scared of ghosts.

I'm unimpressed with Suga so far for all sorts of reasons, but this really shouldn't be a big deal.

The "emergency response" issue is a complete red herring. There are literally hundreds of occasions throughout the year when a PM is much further away from the office/official residence than 250m.

He is very likely going to be a short-term prime minister. Who wants to move twice in a year?

The renovation costs are a pittance. The new paint job will still be there when the next PM decides to move in. The maintenance costs are not a result of him choosing not to live there.

It’s comical to see the comments calling ¥4 million a waste of money. Its chump change in government spending and besides, budgets are separated. It’s not like that cash would be allocated to your favorite charity. It would go to other similarly useless projects.

Let him live where he wants. Who cares? I’m more concerned about getting the vaccine here ASAP

Trump lived in the WH but watched TV all day. Suga is working hard at least no matter where he is resting at night.

"A minute or two means a lot when it comes to crisis management," just to comment this nonsense. Suga lives 250m from the office, he is not firefighter, doctor or similar where minutes really matter. He can be in the office in 15min max so why bother with moving. Also PM office is not magic throne of power from only where it is possible to do certain actions.

He will be out of office soon enough. No reason to move.

Don’t blame him. I wouldn’t want to pay the key money either.

Sell both properties if they aren't being used. Use the proceeds to fund more recreational and greenery projects in the capital.

As if they would ever consider doing that lol.

Wake up, man.

Please let him make his own decisions.

What does the PM do when on the other side of the world attending meetings? If they can’t cope with 250 metres what chance half a globe?

If refurbishment was required then it would have happened anyway, and maintenance is a continuing expense regardless.

While most leaders move in to what ever official residence the country provides it is more a psychological statement of assuming the role than a physical necessity nowadays, modern communication technology has removed the necessity to be physically present.

Seems like a kerfuffle over nothing or the opposition have run out of ideas and are clutching at straws. More of a comment on the paucity of effective opposition than Suga.

Wife First, not the Nation, Suga got his priorities straight.

I just do not have confidence in this man as a Prime Minister

Maybe he's just listening to his own polls (says a person who does not read the tedious political stories, just the headlines). Why pack up and move just to pack up and move? And, like so many men, hide behind the woman when you need to ... obfuscate(?). Human politics would be hilarious if it weren't so pathetic, destructive, and dedicated to Human domination by those who own it. WE certainly don't...