Japanese leader Fumio Kishida moved into the prime minister's official residence over the weekend, becoming the first premier to live there in nine years.
Kishida moved into the brick building, where two coup d'etat attempts by Imperial Japanese military officers took place in the 1930s, located about a minute's walk from the prime minister's office.
The relocation cut his commuting time from the three minutes it takes by car from the apartment blocks in Tokyo's Akasaka area where lower house members live, and where he has resided since before being elevated to the premiership in early October.
"I slept well," said Kishida after emerging from the official residence on Monday morning. "The budget committee meeting will start (in parliament today) so I aim to work hard for it, feeling fresh."
When questioned about whether he saw any of the ghosts that reputedly reside in the building, Kishida said, "So far, I have not seen (any)."
The residence is where Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai was assassinated in a coup attempt in 1932 and the primary site of another attempt four years later.
Some of the people who were killed during the coup attempts, known respectively as The May 15 Incident and The February 26 Incident, are said to haunt the building which dates from the late 1920s.
Kishida's relocation to the building, which sits in the same compound as the prime minister's office, is intended to show his focus on crisis management. Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the then Democratic Party of Japan was the last leader to live there.
Kishida's predecessor, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, lived in the apartment for parliamentarians during his tenure, while former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lived in his private residence in Tokyo since returning to power in 2012.
"I decided to move because I think it would be beneficial for me to concentrate on my public duties," Kishida explained on Saturday. "I also want to cherish my time with my family."
Some opposition lawmakers had criticized previous Liberal Democratic Party prime ministers for not living in the official residence, which costs the taxpayer 160 million yen ($1.4 million) per year to maintain.
Opposition figures have said there would be an unnecessary delay in responding to a major disaster or other incident if the prime minister has to travel from a more distant location.
