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Japan is known for its long working hours. So when its first woman prime minister spoke about her punishing schedule, it brought fresh attention to the country’s work culture and the extra demands on working women.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Sanae Takaichi said household chores and her morning routine took more time than they did for her male predecessors.
“In the morning, I bathe, fix breakfast, and then wash dishes, not to mention apply makeup. I feel like I’m spending three or four more hours than male prime ministers doing these things,” she said.
The discussion began with a question about the long hours Japanese prime ministers spend in Parliament.
When a lawmaker from the Japan Innovation Party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s junior coalition partner, questioned the practice, Takaichi said she struggled to find time to think clearly about the country’s future.
The remarks are striking because Takaichi is a self-described workaholic, who has openly promised to give up work-life balance.
After winning the LDP leadership in October 2025, she urged colleagues to work like draft horses and pledged to keep working herself.
A month later, she held a meeting with aides at 3 am ahead of a parliamentary appearance. She also told lawmakers she was sleeping between two and four hours a night.
Alongside her political duties, Takaichi was caring for her husband, who was recovering from a stroke. Her schedule involved both running the government and attending to responsibilities at home.
She later clarified that she did not intend to encourage others to overwork or suggest that long hours were a virtue. But her own routine has continued to draw attention.
Takaichi has expanded the office facilities at her official residence so she can hold meetings and read documents there after regular hours. She said living next to her office saved commuting time and allowed her to respond quickly to emergencies.
In July 2026, she described “getting consumed until dawn with poring over documents brought home from work and those related to parliamentary questioning”.
On Wednesday, she said she enjoyed reading those documents at night, even as she found it difficult to make time for clear thinking.
For Takaichi, working longer has been a public commitment. Her latest remarks show how much harder that becomes when household work and caregiving are part of the same day.
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