Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted 843 times on X from the launch of her administration in October through Oct. 12, according to The Japan Times.
That output averages more than two posts a day, marking an unusually high rate compared with her predecessors.
The Japanese government maintains that these messages from her personal account do not qualify as administrative records under the public records and archives management law, The Japan Times reported.
No legal provisions currently require officials to preserve social media content, leaving critics to warn that the posts may vanish before future public scrutiny can take place.
While Takaichi uses the platform to share snapshots of her private life and messages as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the majority of her output covers official duties. Her feed includes explanations of government policies, reports on summit diplomacy, and direct public safety messages issued during natural disasters.
Her most widely shared post since taking office featured a photo of herself alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during his October 2025 visit to Japan, which accumulated more than 55,000 reposts. In August, she published a series of messages detailing government measures aimed at combating rising consumer prices. She also uses the platform to communicate directly with foreign leaders by replying to their posts.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara addressed the legal status of the account in written remarks.
“Not from an account operated by the government,” said Kihara, adding that authorities are “not in a position to answer” inquiries regarding whether the posts represent official government policy.
Noriko Ishigaki, an Upper House member from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, submitted the written inquiry that prompted the government response. Takaichi defended her digital communication strategy, pointing to its direct utility.
“There are times when I want to provide timely updates on government initiatives, and I can also hear directly from the public. It has a certain value,” Takaichi said of her platform use.
The public records and archives management law defines administrative records as documents created or obtained by administrative agency employees during their duties and held for organizational use. Cabinet Office records management officials confirmed that posts made by the Cabinet secretary for public affairs meet this standard, whereas posts originating from lawmakers’ personal accounts do not. By contrast, the United States enforces the Presidential Records Act, which requires the preservation of a president’s posts on official matters even when published from a personal account. That U.S. framework preserves edits and deletions, creating a permanent public archive managed by the National Archives.
Hajime Sebata, a professor of Japanese political history at Ryukoku University and an expert on public records management, criticized the current Japanese framework.
“It is a gap in the law,” Sebata told The Japan Times, pointing out that political influence demands accountability.
“Records must be kept so that the politics of the day can be examined later.” “The prime minister and Cabinet ministers hold public positions while in office, so their posts should be preserved as public records regardless of their content.” The legislation itself describes public records as shared intellectual resources designed to support democratic governance and state accountability.