Prime Minister's Official Residence (Japan)

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East façade of the Prime Minister's Official Residence

The Prime Minister's Official Residence[1] (総理大臣官邸 Sōri Daijin Kantei?) is the principal workplace and residence of the Prime Minister of Japan.

About

Located at 2-3-1 Nagata-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968, it is diagonally adjacent to the National Diet Building. The new residence went into service in April 2002[2] and replaced the former residence, built in 1929. The former residence is now known as the Sōri Kōtei (総理公邸?), Prime Minister's Residential Quarters. The term Kantei is used as a metonym for the office of the Prime Minister of Japan and for the Prime Minister's advisors and administration in general.

In addition to the Prime Minister's Official Residence being the principal office of the Prime Minister, the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the Deputy Cabinet Secretaries perform their daily duties, it is also the place where important Cabinet meetings take place, where foreign leaders are welcomed and entertained, and is also the location of a national crisis management center.[3]

Name

The Prime Minister's Official Residence was called Sōri Daijin Kantei (総理大臣官邸?), also known as the Sōri Kantei (総理官邸?), the Shushō Kantei (首相官邸?) or simply the Kantei (官邸?).

History

The old residence in the year of its completion, 1929
The new residence from the valley side

With the evolution of a national Parliament after the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of the post of "Prime Minister of Japan" in 1885, the need for an official Prime Ministerial residence was felt. On the encouragement of Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi, the first residence was completed on 18 March 1929. It was a two-storied mansion designed by Muraji Shimomoto, of the Ministry of Finance[4] and was heavily influenced by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. Indeed, Prime Minister Tanaka is said to have exclaimed, "This is just like a café, isn't it?",[5] upon seeing the Art Deco style of the building.

By the 1990s, the 5,200 square metres (56,000 sq ft) building was deemed cramped and insufficient, and a new five-storied residence was built in 2002 next to the old, with 2.5 times the floor space.[6] Installed with solar panels and a rainwater storage system, the new building has been designed to minimize environmental impact.[7]

In April 2015, a Phantom 2 drone carrying traces of radiation was found on the roof of the PM's office.[8] It had been controlled by Yasuo Yamamoto, an anti-nuclear protestor from Fukui Prefecture.[9] Yamamoto flew the drone there carrying sand containing cesium from Fukushima prefecture on April 9, but the drone was not discovered until April 22.[10]

Notes

  1. ↑ 部局課名・官職名英訳名称一覧 Names of Government Organizations and Positions, June 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Drone 'containing radiation' lands on roof of Japanese PM's office April 22, 2015 The Guardian Retrieved May 4, 2015
  9. ↑ Japanese police say man arrested after he admits landing drone at prime minister's office April 25, 2015 U.S. News & World Report Retrieved May 4, 2015
  10. ↑ Man lands drone carrying radioactive sand on Japanese prime minister’s office April 26, 2015 Ars Technica Retrieved May 4, 2015

External links

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