Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei

The Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei (内閣総理大臣官邸) or Prime Minister's Office is the official workplace of the Prime Minister of Japan. It is commonly referred to as Template:Nihongo, or simply Template:Nihongo. Unlike many other famous offices or palaces of world leaders, such as the Kremlin in Russia or the White House in the United States, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office has no nickname. Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei literally translates to "Prime Minister's Office" in English.

Located at 2-3-1 Nagata-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100–8968, it is diagonally adjacent to the National Diet Building. 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 being the principal office of the Prime Minister, the building also serves as the principal office of the Chief Cabinet Secretary and their Deputy, the location of Cabinet meetings, and is also the location of a national crisis management center.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Usage

The 1st floor contains a press conference room where the Prime Minister and the Chief Cabinet Secretary hold press conferences. On the 4th floor there is a room where the Cabinet holds meetings, summits, etc. The 5th floor has the Prime Minister's Office, their Reception Room, the Chief Cabinet Secretary's office and reception room. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

Current Office

A new five-storied office building was built in 2002, with 2.5 times the floor space.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Installed with solar panels and a rainwater storage system, the new building has been designed to minimize environmental impact.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The new residence went into service in April 2002<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In an April 2015 incident, a Phantom 2 drone carrying traces of radiation was found on the roof of the PM's office.<ref>Drone 'containing radiation' lands on roof of Japanese PM's office April 22, 2015 The Guardian Retrieved May 4, 2015</ref>

In October 2024, a vehicle used by Atsunobu Usuda crashed into a police barricade near the PMO.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Previous Office

The former office building is now known as the Template:Nihongo, the Prime Minister's personal residential quarters.

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 incorporates architectural styles such as Art Deco and expressionist architecture which became popular from the late Taishō period to the early Shōwa period. It was heavily influenced by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, in particular his design for the second Tokyo Imperial Hotel. It is a two-storied mansion designed by Muraji Shimomoto, of the Ministry of the Treasury (now Ministry of Finance).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prime Minister Tanaka is said to have exclaimed, "This is just like a café, isn't it?",<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> upon seeing the building.

By the 1990s, the old Template:Convert building was deemed cramped and insufficient. It underwent seismic retrofitting and internal renovation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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External links

• Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet
• Official YouTube Channel
• A virtual tour of the Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence)
• A virtual tour of the former Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence)