Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says she does not get enough sleep and has problems with housework and her job.
Introduction
She has been Prime Minister for six months. She says she does not sleep enough. She also finds it hard to do housework and her government work. Many politicians say they are worried about her.
Main Body
During a meeting with former trade minister Akira Amari, Takaichi said she wanted more rest. Earlier, she told a committee that she had very little free time because of housework. She said she sleeps only two to four hours each night. She said this is bad for her skin. She also said she cannot buy food or order takeout from the official residence. She only has frozen food. When it is gone, she has no food. Amari said she talked about this problem with him. Soon after she became Prime Minister, she called a meeting at 3 a.m. to prepare for a budget meeting at 9 a.m. This worried many politicians from both the ruling party and the opposition. Amari said he was ''honestly worried'' about her health. One opposition lawmaker told her to sleep more. Takaichi says she likes former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher slept only four hours a night and said she did not need more sleep. Takaichi''s campaign slogan was ''work, work, work, work, and work''. It was named Japan''s catchphrase of the year for 2025. Sleep is an important issue in Japan. Many people work very long hours. This can cause death from overwork, called ''karoshi''. For many years, Japan has tried to change its work culture. A study in March found that Japanese adults sleep an average of 7 hours and 1 minute on weekdays. That is 38 minutes less than the world average. It is also less than in the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada. Takaichi is a hardline conservative. She follows the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She wants to move Japan to the right. She moved into the prime minister''s residence with her husband last year. She said her husband tried to bring work home instead of staying late at the office. He did this to avoid keeping aides and security waiting at night.
Conclusion
Prime Minister Takaichi says she does not get enough sleep and has trouble with housework and her job. This shows her very busy schedule and the problem of overwork in Japan. She admires leaders who slept very little. But her own words have made colleagues and opposition members worried.