Takaichi visited field sites just 8 times in 10 months, spent half her days off at official residence

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has conducted just eight field visits in the 10 months since taking office, drawing criticism that she has been far less active in public outreach than her predecessors. She spent more than half her days off entirely inside the official residence or her lodgings.

According to Kyodo News on Saturday, Takaichi made a total of eight field visits in the roughly 10 months since she took office on Oct. 21 last year.

The figure stands in stark contrast to her predecessors. Former Prime Minister Kishida Fumio made 31 field visits over the same period after taking office, while former Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru made 22. Takaichi's tally amounts to roughly one-quarter of Kishida's.

The sites she visited were largely limited to disaster areas and official ceremonies. Three of the eight trips were to regions hit by earthquakes. On Aug. 6 she traveled to Hiroshima and on Aug. 9 to Nagasaki for events marking the anniversaries of the atomic bombings. The remaining visits came as part of schedules accompanying foreign leaders visiting Japan.

Analysts say the pattern reflects Takaichi's working style, which favors reviewing policy documents inside the official residence over outside engagements.

Within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, however, voices have emerged calling on the prime minister to go out and meet the public directly.

"When the head of state visits the scene, it encourages those involved," a senior LDP official told Kyodo News. "There are things you can only see by going there. I hope she will visit in person as much as possible."

Takaichi's preference for staying at the official residence is equally evident in her off-duty schedule.

According to the Nikkei, Takaichi spent 51 of her 94 Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays since taking office — 54 percent — entirely at the prime minister's official residence or the Akasaka parliamentary lodgings.

She went out on 43 of those days off. Of those, 36 outings were for official or diplomatic duties. She went out on 11 days for party business as LDP leader, including campaigning for the House of Representatives election last February. Some days involved both official and party obligations.

She ventured out for personal reasons on just one occasion — May 30 — and even then her destination was reported to be a dentist's office.

Takaichi's office says she limits unnecessary outings out of consideration for the burden placed on her support staff. "It seems she stays at the residence because, if she goes out, her security detail and secretaries also have to come in," a close aide told the Nikkei.

Takaichi has emphasized that she continues working on days she remains at the residence rather than resting, spending the time reviewing policy documents and materials rather than adding outside engagements.

With the gap between her field visit count and those of her predecessors now drawing attention, calls within the ruling party for stronger on-the-ground engagement are likely to grow.