The Daily Populous Wednesday July 22nd, 2026 evening edition
Authored by mainichi.jp and submitted by BowlNew

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enters her office on July 21, 2026. (Mainichi/Akihiro Hirata)

TOKYO -- Ruling and opposition party members have taken issue with a post by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about her handling of a heavy workload with little to no sleep, asking whether such a way of working and communicating is appropriate for the nation's leader.

Takaichi wrote on X on the evening of July 20 that on weekends since the start of July she had "continued reading thick stacks of materials from early morning until late at night," including the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform (the so-called "Big-boned Policy"). She emphasized how busy she had been, spending time "wrestling with piles of documents" while short on sleep.

Post on X says '0-3 hours of sleep has become norm'

Regarding the weekend of July 18-19, Takaichi's post stated that she had been "swamped with work until early today (July 20), rereading the final draft of documents and processing several thousand accumulated emails." She added that "since becoming prime minister, zero to three hours of sleep has become the norm."

Meanwhile, Takaichi stressed that on July 20, the final day of a three-day weekend, she had "managed to get as much as five hours of sleep for the first time in a while." She wrote that "the afternoon became precious time I could use privately," adding that from noon she "dealt all at once with a large amount of untouched ironing, including washed handkerchiefs and inner tops, as well as sewing."

Tamaki: 'Isn't allocating work also the job of a leader?'

Takaichi's post, which appeared to emphasize her lack of sleep, caused ripples among ruling and opposition lawmakers. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said at a news conference on July 21, "Isn't allocating work so that one can focus on tasks only the top leader can perform, in a sense, also the job of a leader?" Pointing to the option of outsourcing housework, he added, "I think she should rest more. Why doesn't her entourage provide more support to create an environment in which she can make important decisions with a fresh mind?"

Opposition exec dismissive, LDP officials also comment

One source from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) commented, "A sense of impatience is showing through. History will judge how the prime minister works." The source added, "What will be important is whether she has enough aides whom she can trust and entrust with work."

Meanwhile, an opposition party executive commented, "I have rarely seen the prime minister of a country make a show of not sleeping."

fulthrottlejazzhands on July 22nd, 2026 at 07:36 UTC »

A) That's a lie

B) If the person in the country making the most important decisions was only getting "0-3" hours of sleep a day, they're doing something wrong, and/or they're in no state to be making important decsions. In the end, they're disregarding their very basic health which will ultimately be of detriment to the country.

C) That's pathetic and not impressive if that was the intent.

Edit: I see this all the time in my industry. But anyone who has been around for a while knows consistent lack of sleep causes many more problems than it helps solve. As a manager, I want my reports to get sleep and have work life balance, but selfishly I also can't have people who are sleep deprived doing (often error-prone) work or making important decisions. I've seen it happen so many times where fuck ups happen because the person on watch has hit a wall. I've literally ended meetings and calls with my reports who I know have refused to stop working.

0xffff0001 on July 22nd, 2026 at 07:32 UTC »

why these people always lie?

Emotional_Cut2206 on July 22nd, 2026 at 07:32 UTC »

Its a lie anyway