Japan's PM admits to 'befriending' cockroach following extreme loneliness

In a candid new social media post, the Japanese Prime Minister spoke about the sad impact that long working hours have had on her social wellbeing.

Sanae Takaichi was elected to the influential position 10 months ago and has since challenged the likes of political powerhouses Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, and formed bonds with US and Italian counterparts, Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni.

Despite regularly rubbing shoulders with high-profile personnel and sitting in on vital worldly discussions, life at the top of the political food chain has reportedly left Takaichi feeling as though she's lacking in a certain respect.

By her own tragic admission, Takaichi has never felt more 'lonely', trapped in the confines of her office for hours upon hours on end, often surviving on as little as three hours of sleep per night.

Takaichi spends her days connecting with high-profile people (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

So much so that she recently resorted to making friends with critters living in her home workspace - specifically, a cockroach.

The emotional admission came in a post shared on X on Saturday (22 Aug), in which she promised to answer 'some of the questions I often get'.

The social media-savvy politician was originally asked to address the long-standing rumours that her Tokyo office is haunted by spirits who died during two coup attempts in the 1930s.

"Have you already met the ghosts that are said to appear in the official residence?" Takaichi was asked.

While she confirmed she hadn't come across any other-worldly spirits, she recalled stumbling across a creepy crawly late one night.

"I've never encountered a ghost, but until recently, I was the one screaming when I came across cockroaches," Takaichi penned, writing in Japanese. "When I lived in the members' dormitory, I never had an encounter with cockroaches.

Takaichi refused to kill the critter (Getty Stock Images)

"Even after moving to the official residence, I carefully wiped down the floor under the dining table, put food scraps in a sturdy lidded garbage can, and washed and sorted plastic containers, so I was shocked when, one day, a cockroach suddenly scurried past my feet."

Takaichi refused to kill the bug after convincing herself it could be 'part of that long cycle of reincarnation'.

She found, however, that after staff removed the cockroach, she felt 'relieved, but also a little lonely, or maybe sad'.

In a later tweet, shared the same day, Takaichi opened up on her preference to work from her official Prime Minister's residence, rather than in her office building, claiming it eased the 'burden on official residence staff'.

She went on to write: "I have made it a point to actively utilise the prime minister’s residence, which allows me to minimise the number of staff and security personnel, including special police, who need to be involved."