TIME Magazineのインスタグラム(time) - 5月10日 22時05分

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida inside the great hall at his official residence in Tokyo on April 28.

“I have been warned by my predecessors that you will encounter ghosts in this building,” Kishida, 65, tells TIME in an exclusive interview inside the red-carpeted residence, gazing around at the expressionist wall motifs, which include at least one rather menacing concrete gargoyle. “Of course, it is an old building, so I hear sounds from time to time. But fortunately, I have yet to encounter a ghost.”

Kishida in December unveiled Japan’s biggest military buildup since World War II, mirroring upticks in defense spending across Europe, including Germany. The commitment would give Japan the world’s third largest defense budget.

Still, Japan’s martial resurgence isn’t without controversy. Read the exclusive interview with Kishida at the link in our bio.

Photograph by Ko Tsuchiya (@kotsuchiya) for TIME

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