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As Japan enters the Obon holiday, the country's biggest traditional festival, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has decided not to take a summer vacation even during the closure of the National Diet.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On August 11, Yonhap News, citing the Yomiuri Shimbun, reported, "Prime Minister Takaichi will not schedule any separate vacation during the closure period of the Diet, which past prime ministers used for overseas visits or summer breaks, instead devoting herself entirely to work." It was reported that during the holiday, Prime Minister Takaichi plans to focus on recovery efforts for the Kumamoto earthquake and prepare for the autumn extraordinary session of the National Diet. She canceled her plan to visit Nara Prefecture, her hometown and electoral district, and has no plans for overseas trips. A close associate of Prime Minister Takaichi told the Yomiuri, "There are no plans for a long summer vacation," adding, "Whether she comes to the office will be decided daily depending on whether there is work that needs to be addressed that day."

Since the beginning of her term, Prime Minister Takaichi has been described as a "reclusive" leader. Local media have reported that she rarely attends social gatherings, resulting in infrequent face-to-face contacts with key figures, and that after work she spends her time alone with policy materials. Coordination with the ruling party or high-ranking ministry officials is mostly handled by Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, while the Prime Minister is known to care for her mobility-impaired husband and manage household chores and policy review after work, leaving her chronically sleep deprived.

Recently, she revealed this routine herself. On July 20, Prime Minister Takaichi wrote on her X (formerly Twitter) account, "On weekdays, I’m busy returning to the official residence, cleaning the bathtub, bathing, having dinner, washing dishes, doing laundry, and simple tidying up," adding, "Then, late at night, I’m chased for time reading materials brought from my office and Diet response documents." Even on weekends, she said she couldn't rest because she had to read materials and process thousands of emails, and only on the last day of the three-day holiday did she find time to iron the mountain of washed laundry. She added, "Since becoming Prime Minister, sleeping only 0 to 3 hours a night has become my routine, but for the first time in ages, I was able to sleep for five hours."

The post drew mixed reactions online. Some praised her for her strenuous efforts, but others criticized it as “an excuse to avoid going to the National Diet,” while some raised concerns that “it would be difficult to make sound decisions in a crisis if she is constantly so fatigued.”

Image of Japanese yen. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News Agency

Her approach of being completely devoted to her job had been hinted at even before her appointment. After being elected as the Liberal Democratic Party president last October, Prime Minister Takaichi said, "I will throw away the idea of work-life balance," and declared, "I will work, work, work, and work again." This remark was selected for the buzzword of the year in Japan. In November last year, shortly after taking office, she stirred controversy by arriving at the Prime Minister's official residence at 3 a.m. to prepare for parliamentary budget committee responses.

Meanwhile, there is also speculation that political scheduling factors are behind her decision to forgo her vacation. Kyodo News, citing multiple government sources on July 25, reported that "Prime Minister Takaichi plans to review a cabinet reshuffle and Liberal Democratic Party appointments following the closure of the special Diet session." The timing for the reshuffle is reportedly under consideration for either August or September, with much attention being paid to the future of key officials such as Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Ichi Suzuki.

The cabinet’s approval rating, which once exceeded 70%, has recently dropped significantly. According to a nationwide poll by the Yomiuri Shimbun conducted from July 24 to 26, support for the Takaichi cabinet fell to 57%, down 12 percentage points from 69% in June, marking the lowest figure since her inauguration. During the same period, a joint survey by Nihon Keizai Shimbun and TV Tokyo showed a 10-point drop to 58%. Earlier, a poll conducted by Mainichi Shimbun on July 18–19 found the approval rating at 41%, below 50% for the first time. The Yomiuri cited as reasons for the decline a lack of explanation regarding key policies, such as revision of the Imperial House Law, as well as dissatisfaction with the government’s response to the ongoing high cost of living.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.