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Official Residence A virtual tour of the Kantei (Prime Minister's Official Residence)
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Overview of the Prime Minister's Official Residence > Main Entrance > Stairs > South Meeting Room > Exterior and Front Garden
Overview of the Prime Minister's Official Residence
In search of a "feel of Japan" - bamboo and stone are symbols of the new kantei
Bamboo and Stone - symbols of the Kantei
Bamboo and Stone - symbols of the Kantei
Photo No.1 Prime Minister's Official Residence Photo No.2 Prime Minister's Official Residence(South Side) Photo No.3 Bamboo and Stone - symbols of the Kantei
The main building of the new kantei went into service in April 2002. Replacing the former kantei, which had weathered 73 years, was the beginning of a new chapter in history.

The area of the site on which the new kantei was built is 1.6 times that of the former kantei, and it has two-and-a-half times as much floor space. The main building has five floors above ground and one floor below. Facilities for receiving guests and holding meetings have been enhanced, and a specialized space for crisis management has been prepared.

The basic design concept is "evocation of the simple beauty of the Japanese aesthetic." The principal building materials are those of traditional Japanese architecture: wood, stone, Japanese paper, glass and clay (walls).

The Inner Court, which extends up from the second floor to the rooftop, is a combination of bamboo and stone (natural-quarried granite). Bamboo expresses the "future challenges as it grows toward the sky", while the stone signifies the "strength and solidity as they sit on the earth."

If the horned owl was the symbol of the former kantei, it may be said that bamboo and stone have moved into that role at the new kantei.

As we greet the new century, the new kantei is surely a suitable face for Japanese politics.
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