When zombies aren't afraid

[Russell]

Gov't denies ghosts keeping PM out of residence

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet on Friday formally denied months-long rumors that the premier had not moved into his official residence over fears the mansion is haunted.

Abe took office in December but has yet to move into the 11-room brick home in central Tokyo, the longest holdout among any of his predecessors, according to local media.

Several former prime ministers have reported experiencing unusual phenomena at the mansion which was center-stage for two failed but bloody coups in the 1930s.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi once told reporters: “I’ve never encountered any ghosts, although I want to see them.”

Some first ladies have also refused to live in the mansion over fears its was inhabited by spirits.

“There are rumors that the official residence is haunted by ghosts. Is it true? Does Prime Minister Abe refuse to move to the official residence because of the rumors?” an opposition lawmaker asked in a letter to Abe’s cabinet.

The lawmaker said the decision could delay Abe’s response time in emergencies because the residence is next door to his executive office.

Abe’s cabinet issued a terse written statement on Friday, saying: “We are not aware of any sightings of ghosts.”

In May 1932, a revolt by naval officers ended in the murder of then prime minister Tsuyoshi Inukai and the plotters’ surrender to military police.

Several years later in 1936, about 1,400 rebel troops killed several political leaders and seized the heart of Tokyo’s government district including the official residence for four days.

[Russell]

Ghosts keeping Abe out of official residence?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been in office for five months and reporters who follow him every day still have one question: why hasn’t he moved into the Prime Minister’s Official Residence?

Despite his extremely tight schedule, a security detail-escorted limousine takes Abe to the prime minister’s office every morning, a 15-minute ride from his private home in the Tomigaya district of Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.

The question drew fresh public attention Friday after the Cabinet responded to a written query by Ken Kagaya of the Democratic Party of Japan, who asked if Abe’s reluctance to move into the official residence had anything to do with rumors that it is haunted by ghosts.

“We are not aware (of any ghosts),” the Cabinet wrote in an official reply.

“It’s true there are various rumors,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters later in the day.

Asked if he ever felt the official residence was haunted, Suga laughed: “Yeah, I’d say I felt something like that, if you ask me.”

The official residence stands next to the prime minister’s office in the same compound in Tokyo’s Nagata-cho political district.

Built in 1929, the residence originally served as the prime minister’s office until 2002, when, via a ¥8.6 billion renovation job, it was turned into a residence.

Two major coup d’etat attempts — the 5.15 (1932) and 2.26 (1936) Incidents — took place in the compound, resulting in the assassination of a number of government officials and Cabinet members, including then-Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai in 1932.

Since then, rumors have circulated among politicians that ghosts haunt the structure.

Suga said he believes Abe feels more comfortable at his private home.

“The prime ministership is an extremely busy post with pressing work,” Suga said. “So I think (Abe) should be allowed to work in what he considers the best environment.”

Abe, who is careful about his health, may feel he needs an environment where he can relax at night.

His first stint as prime minister — from 2006 and 2007 — ended in humiliation with his abrupt resignation. At the time, he claimed he was suffering inflammatory bowel disease, which can be exacerbated by stress. It was also a time when members of his Cabinet were involved in scandals, including a minister who committed suicide.

How would that look like, a ¥8.6 billion renovation job?!?

[legion]

At least the ghosts are enjoying some modern conveniences

I bet the prior to renovation it had Japanese style loos

[Coligny]

You can't use j-l00z with case of the run...
Trust me... I tried... The place looked like the crime scene of a belly landing plane crash...

[matsuki]

"We Gaijin" simply don't unerstand how scary "We Japanese" ghosts are.

Several former prime ministers have reported experiencing unusual phenomena at the mansion which was center-stage for two failed but bloody coups in the 1930s.

Too bad the fukushima/tsunami survivors don't share the same fervor.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Just last week some people in my office were talking about getting a Buddhist temple to do some bullshit ceremony or other to get rid of the bad juju caused by a yurei. Apparently a friend of one of the ladies I work with is being haunted and had consulted a temple famous for yurei busting but they wanted an exorbitant fee of over a hundred thousand yen. The people at my office said it should only be a few man at most and someone gave her a recommendation. Good thing her friend won't be ripped off now

[matsuki]

Just last week some people in my office were talking about getting a Buddhist temple to do some bullshit ceremony or other to get rid of the bad juju caused by a yurei. Apparently a friend of one of the ladies I work with is being haunted and had consulted a temple famous for yurei busting but they wanted an exorbitant fee of over a hundred thousand yen. The people at my office said it should only be a few man at most and someone gave her a recommendation. Good thing her friend won't be ripped off now

Can't wait til they discover the noises she thought were a ghost were nothing more than a peeping tom tanaka on his way home from work.

[Russell]

Just last week some people in my office were talking about getting a Buddhist temple to do some bullshit ceremony or other to get rid of the bad juju caused by a yurei. Apparently a friend of one of the ladies I work with is being haunted and had consulted a temple famous for yurei busting but they wanted an exorbitant fee of over a hundred thousand yen. The people at my office said it should only be a few man at most and someone gave her a recommendation. Good thing her friend won't be ripped off now

You should have told them that the more expensive services work better.

You get what you pay for. LOL.

[Russell]

Abe fails to move back into 'haunted' residence

Nine months after Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic party was elected to power there are widespread rumours that supernatural phenomena are preventing him from moving into his official residence in central Tokyo.

Rather than move into the presidential home, Abe has preferred to make the 15-minute commute from his family's house to the office and has shown no indication that he is preparing to move into the art deco mansion in the heart of Nagatacho, the capital's political district, where he lived during his previous stint as prime minister in 2006-07.

While officials deny Abe has a fear of the supernatural – and there was no discussion of the matter in 2007 when he resigned from office due to ill health – rumours abound that the official residence is haunted by figures from Japan's bloody prewar history.

In 1932, a group of naval officers assassinated the then prime minister, Tsuyoshi Inukai, at the residence during a failed coup. Four years later, it was the scene of another attempted coup by a radical faction of the imperial Japanese army.

Bullet holes and traces of fire damage near the entrance to the mansion property have left physical reminders of the coup attempts. But there have also been frequent reported sightings of men in military uniform in a nearby garden. Several former first ladies have refused to move into the building over fears it was haunted.

The building, completed in 1929 in the style of the US architect Frank Lloyd Wright, did not become the prime minister's official residence until 2005.

In May, media speculation about the spirits of Japan's prewar political instability prompted an opposition MP to ask in parliament if Abe was too frightened to move in.

The government said it was "not aware" of the ghost tales although Abe, who said the 11-room property was simply too big for his needs, has since acknowledged hearing speculation about the building's supernatural guests.

Japanese media claim that Abe recently broached the subject with colleagues during a dinner at the official residence.

"I don't feel like living here because there are ghosts," the Asahi Shimbun quoted him as saying. He reportedly suggested to the assembled LDP executives: "Why don't we all live here together?"

Other reasons for not moving there is his short 15 minute commute and the fact that Japanese Prime Ministers are usually in office less than a year.

But undoubtedly, the ghosts are what got him...

[matsuki]

Other reasons for not moving there is his short 15 minute commute and the fact that Japanese Prime Ministers are usually in office less than a year.

But undoubtedly, the ghosts are what got him...

TIJ, never underestimate the unreasonable.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'd like to laugh at Abe and the Japanese in general for believing in that shit but it's hard to poke fun when you're from The United States of Jeebus.