The official residence for the Prime Minister of Japan. (Image via Getty Images)

Suga refuses to move to the official residence

Since taking the post as the Prime Minister of Japan in September 2020, Yoshihide Suga has been living at an apartment complex. Having been asked to move into an official residence for the Prime Minister, Suga refused. However, the modest move drew criticism instead that it might be the cause why Suga was slow to respond in the event of a crisis.

After an earthquake swept northeastern Japan on 13 February, the member of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and also the former Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, pushed Suga to move into the special residence for the Japanese Prime Minister. The residence is located right next to Suga's office.

While Suga was declining the offer, Noda called Suga 'selfish'. Living in the residence during his one-year tenure in 2011-2012, Noda stated that even one or two minutes is crucial for crisis management. As the earthquake may damage roads, Noda claimed that it would take minutes for Suga to get to his office.

Responding to the offer at the meeting of the House of Representatives' Budget Committee, Suga asserted that he is more than ready to respond to the current situation. Moreover, he stated that living in his current residence does not mean that he could not fulfill his duty. Suga's apartment - also for lower house members - is located in Akasaka District or about 250 meters from his office in Nagatacho.

Previously, Suga stated in mid-September that he would move to the residence. Even, the residence was renovated at 4.39 million yen. However, the 72-year-old Prime Minister later had a change of heart. He only used the residence for limited occasions such as talking to foreign leaders or COVID-19 briefings.

The residence is actually equipped to facilitate Suga at any time of the day. Even, it has a resident physician. For the 2020 fiscal, the maintenance fee for the residence is totaled at 160 million yen. People speculated that the actual reason why Suga refused to move is that his wife, Mariko, does not want to be in the spotlight.

Source: https://bit.ly/3qGlxz2