Official Residence Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet TOP
Official Residence A virtual tour of the former Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence)
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Second Floor - Front Staircase
The Front Staircase > The Cabinet Room > The Prime Minister's Office
The Cabinet Room
The place for Cabinet meetings
The Cabinet Room at the time of completion
The Cabinet Room at the time of completion
Photo No.1 The Ministerial Reception Room Photo No.2 The Cabinet Room Photo No.3 The Cabinet Room at the time of completion
The Cabinet Room was located on the second floor of the Kantei and was used to hold regular Cabinet meetings on Tuesdays and Fridays, as well as extraordinary Cabinet meetings during times of emergency. Although Cabinet meetings moved to the Cabinet Room in the National Diet building when the Diet was in session, at all other times, Cabinet meetings were held in the Kantei.

An oval table measuring 5.2 meters by 6.2 meters sat in the Cabinet Room. The table was originally round, but after World War II the number of Cabinet posts increased so the table was elongated twice by dividing it in half and adding extra leaves.

The scene often seen on TV, where all the Cabinet Ministers were sitting in chairs centered around the Prime Minister, was shot in the Ministerial Reception Room next to the Cabinet Room, just before the start of Cabinet meetings. The Cabinet Room itself, however, had not often been shown on TV or photographed for public viewing.

As Cabinet Ministers used ink brushes to sign Cabinet documents, a suzuri bako (a case containing an ink brush and ink stone) bearing the name of each Cabinet Minister in gold lettering was always placed on the table in the Cabinet Room for each Minister.
The Front Staircase
The Prime Minister's Office
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