Japan’s PM shares funny cockroach story

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has shared a surprising story about finding a cockroach at her official residence in Tokyo.

The 65 year old prime minister recently answered questions about the residence on X, formerly known as Twitter. She was more scared of a Cockroach than a ghost

One person asked Takaichi if she had ever seen a ghost at the official residence which has been the subject of various ghost stories.

She said she had never seen a ghost there but she did have a frightening experience with a cockroach.

Takaichi explained that she had never seen a cockroach while living in accommodation provided for lawmakers.However after moving into the prime minister’s official residence she once spotted one near her feet. She said she had carefully cleaned the floor under her dining table and removed food crumbs. So when a cockroach suddenly appeared she was hocked.

Why she did Not Kill It

Interestingly, Takaichi decided not to kill the insect. She explained that she has loved the Japanese manga Phoenix since childhood.

The story focuses on themes of life death and rebirth. Because of this she said she could not bring herself to kill the cockroach.

Instead she thought that perhaps the insect was also part of the long cycle of life and rebirth. So, she left the cockroach in the room and walked away.

Her secretaries took action

Takaichi said she tolerated the situation for some time and hoped the cockroach would eventually leave on its own. However when she told her secretaries about it they became frightened.

One of them eventually arranged an operation to remove the unwanted visitor. After that Takaichi did not see another cockroach at the residence.

She felt surprisingly lonely

The funny part of the story came afterward. Although Takaichi felt relieved that the cockroach was gone she admitted that she also felt a little lonely and sad.

She said she experienced both relief and a strange sense of loneliness after the insect disappeared.