<figure id="attachment_406066" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-406066" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="42be2d08"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/6862dd3bc9d60db7e549d28747b57903.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-406066" class="wp-caption-text">Akie was in tears at one point during her speech</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Before Prime Minister Ishiba &#8230;&#8230;</h2>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8216;I would like to hear a little bit about the U.S., but it was a &#8230;&#8230; good dinner. I&#8217;ll hold off on talking any further.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> On December 22, &#8220;An Evening of Taiwan-Japan Mutual Prosperity,&#8221; an event presided over by the &#8220;Japan Association of Friends of Lee Teng Hui,&#8221; was held at a hotel in Tokyo&#8217;s Chiyoda Ward. Akie, 62, wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, spoke on the theme, &#8220;My Thoughts on Taiwan.</p>
<p> A week before this event, on the 15th, Akie attended a dinner with President-elect Trump and his wife in Florida. The assembled audience and media were eager to hear the details of the event &#8211; but she avoided mentioning it.</p>
<p> The content of the conversation with the couple was the focus of attention, as Akie, a &#8220;private citizen,&#8221; was invited to the Trumps&#8217; private residence, Mar-a-Lago, in lieu of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (67), who wanted an early meeting with the couple.</p>
<figure id="attachment_406069" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-406069" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="798aabb1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/97a89642c5fc0a8bac3ead3b97c18d7f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-406069" class="wp-caption-text"> Akie revealed her feelings about Taiwan.</figcaption></figure>
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<p> Instead, she shared an episode from Abe&#8217;s visit to Japan in 1919, when he was prime minister, when they had dinner at a Robatayaki restaurant in Roppongi (Minato Ward).</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Trump said, &#8216;The last war (World War II) must not have happened if it had been you and Shinzo (at the top of the two countries). I thought he is the one who doesn&#8217;t want to go to war. I want him to lead us to a peaceful world.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> Akie&#8217;s visit to the U.S. was controversial, but Trump entrusted her with a photo book addressed to Prime Minister Ishiba. The book has the word &#8220;PEACE&#8221; written in Trump&#8217;s handwriting, which is believed to be a message that he wants to meet with Ishiba. Akie has demonstrated her skills in diplomacy, which is Abe&#8217;s forte. She said, &#8221; <span class="strongInContent">I would like to revisit the countries we toured together</span>,&#8221; and continued, &#8220;My <span class="strongInContent">husband</span> has made it possible for me to <span class="strongInContent">see</span> people <span class="strongInContent">I wouldn</span> &#8216;t normally see.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Thanks to my husband, I was able to meet people I wouldn&#8217;t otherwise have met. I want to contribute to the world in some way. If my actions will make people feel good about Japan, I would like to follow in the footsteps left behind by my husband, even in areas where the Foreign Minister cannot go.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Being a Victim of Crime"></div>
<h2>His easygoing character is still there.</h2>
<figure id="attachment_406068" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-406068" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ae55b83f"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/25cd78bef8fe8fefc50fdfd70568a3d4.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-406068" class="wp-caption-text"> Akie&#8217;s &#8220;akki verses&#8221; were also heard throughout.</figcaption></figure>
<p> Since the beginning of this year, Akie has been touring Taiwan, China, and India. As president of an organization that honors NPOs and other organizations that make social contributions, Akie has visited prisons and juvenile training schools to offer comfort. In August of this year, she also shared an episode of her first visit to Okayama Prison, where nearly half of the prisoners are serving life sentences for committing serious crimes, such as murder, despite being first-time offenders.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> She said, &#8220;I went there to visit the prison, but when I went up on the stage, I felt indescribable. I talked about the grief and pain of the bereaved families. Some people wrote me letters, and we are still corresponding. Some wrote, &#8220;I hope that one day I will be able to contribute to society while at least atoning for my sins for more than 30 years. I also received a letter that enclosed 5,000 yen and asked me to use it to offer incense.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I will be there for the victims in this position, but if you don&#8217;t create perpetrators, you don&#8217;t create victims. My husband has been talking about &#8216;re-charging&#8217; on a daily basis, so if he is willing to atone for his sins and contribute to society, I want to be of service.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> When Akie said these words, the audience fell silent.</p>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="41673c19"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/d4fadaf5785f92aa48c6245e331f4017.jpg" alt="昭恵氏と故・晋三氏を描いた色紙も展示されていた"></a></p>
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<p> She also touched on the hardships of driving from her home in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to Ube Airport and communicating with various organizations by herself, without a secretary. He also spoke about the difficulties he faced in communicating with various organizations by himself, without a secretary.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I have nothing more to say about Taiwan,&#8221; he said.</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> I don&#8217;t know how much longer I can talk about Taiwan.</span><br>
<span class="strongInContent"> I was told to go in through the underground parking lot in case the media found me.</span></p>
<p> The venue was filled with laughter as Mrs. Akie spoke so matter-of-factly. The 40-minute lecture was filled with joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.</p>
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 Daisuke Iwasaki

 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 On December 22, "An Evening of Taiwan-Japan Mutual Prosperity," an event presided over by the Japan Association of Friends of Lee Teng Hui, was held at a hotel in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. The special speaker was Akie, wife of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. What did Akie have to say?

[Even for a consolation prize to a prison&#8230;] Akie Abe, who met with Trump, revealed her feelings &#8220;two and a half years after the death of her husband Shinzo.

[Even for a consolation prize to a prison…] Akie Abe, who met with Trump, revealed her feelings “two and a half years after the death of her husband Shinzo.

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