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Going through the Entrance Hall of the Kantei
and ascending the front staircase to the second floor south side, you would find
the Prime Minister's Office in one corner. The office was about 76 square meters
in size, a slightly elongated room, stretching from south to north, from where
it was possible to hear the singing of birds and the chirruping of cicadas in
the South Garden.
The Prime Minister's Office experienced tumultuous times over a period of 73 years
and witnessed a procession of 42 prime ministers from Giichi Tanaka through to
Junichiro Koizumi. It truly can be said that the Prime Minister's Office was a
room in which one could feel the weight of history.
Some people may imagine that the Prime Minister's Office was a large room. In
fact, the Prime Minister's Office itself was furnished with a sturdy wooden working
desk, a lounge set for receiving a number of visitors and a table for meetings.
In addition, special telephone lines, such as a direct emergency hotline and a
diplomatic hotline, were situated in the office, and the room did not give the
impression of being large.
However, this is the room that many politicians aspire to make their own office
and it could well be said to represent the pinnacle of politics in Japan. Prime
ministers over the years have undertaken various discussions in this room and
made various decisions. It truly can be said that it is a room imbued with Japanese
history. |
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