Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi moved Wednesday to a temporary home in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, while he awaits the completion of renovation work on his official residence in Chiyoda Ward.
Koizumi's temporary residence is a former government chamber house that was built as the official residence for director general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau.
The residence was built in 1997 at a cost of 1.3 billion yen, and since September 2001, it has been used by government ministries and agencies for their meetings.
In April, a five-story office of the Prime Minister's Official Residence opened in Chiyoda Ward just adjacent to its predecessor, a 73-year-old office-cum-residence complex, part of which had been used as Koizumi's residence until Tuesday.
In June, the government will move the old building closer to the new one and renovate it. It will reopen as the prime minister's new residence by March 2004.
