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Akie Abe (安倍 昭恵, Abe Akie; née Matsuzaki; born 10 June 1962) is a Japanese radio DJ and the widow of Shinzo Abe, who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.
Akie Abe | |
|---|---|
| 安倍 昭恵 | |
.jpg) Akie Abe in 2019 | |
| Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In role 26 December 2012 – 16 September 2020 | |
| Monarchs | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Hitomi Noda |
| Succeeded by | Mariko Suga |
| In role 26 September 2006 – 26 September 2007 | |
| Monarch | |
| Prime Minister | Shinzo Abe |
| Preceded by | Chieko Maki |
| Succeeded by | Kiyoko Fukuda |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Akie Matsuzaki 10 June 1962 Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Liberal Democratic Party |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Radio DJ |
Early life
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.jpg)
Akie was born Akie Matsuzaki (松崎 昭恵, Matsuzaki Akie). She is from a wealthy Japanese family; her father is the former president of Morinaga & Co., one of Japan's largest confectionery companies.
She was educated at Sacred Heart School in Tokyo (or Seishin Joshi Gakuin), a Roman Catholic private elementary through high school, then graduated from Sacred Heart Professional Training College. Akie later worked for Dentsu Inc., the world's largest advertising agency, before marrying Shinzo Abe in 1987. The couple had no children, having undergone unsuccessful fertility treatments earlier in their marriage.[1] The two would remain married until Shinzo's assassination on 8 July 2022.
In the late 1990s, Akie worked as a radio disc jockey in her husband's hometown of Shimonoseki. She was popular in the broadcast area and was known by her jockey name, "Akky".[2]
Public life
editFollowing her husband's first stint as prime minister, she opened an organic izakaya in the Kanda district of Tokyo, but was not active in management due to the urging of her mother-in-law.[3] She received a master's degree in Social Design Studies from Rikkyo University in March 2011.[citation needed]
Akie became popularly known as the "domestic opposition party" due to her outspoken views, which often contradicted her husband's.[3] Akie is also known as a supporter of sexual minorities and the LGBT community. On April 27, 2014, she joined the gay pride parade in Tokyo to show her support for broader rights to Japan's LGBT community.[4] In 2015, she was photographed standing in a field of cannabis plants promoting the revival of the cannabis culture in Japan.[5]
While her husband was in office, Akie developed a close relationship with the Moritomo Gakuen kindergarten in Osaka, which is noted for its conservative and militarist culture, including requiring students to memorize the Imperial Rescript on Education. Akie was named as honorary principal of Mizuho no Kuni, an elementary school under development by Moritomo Gakuen, but resigned in February 2017 after it was discovered that Moritomo Gakuen had purchased the land for the school from the government for 14% of its appraised value.[6] The Moritomo Gakuen scandal highlighted the complicated role of the prime minister's wife in Japan: although Akie herself was not considered a civil servant, she was supported by a staff of five civil servants seconded from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, thus implying that her role carries public duties.[7]
Akie was the first spouse of a Japanese prime minister to actively use social media, and was particularly personally active on Facebook and Instagram, but dramatically reduced her social media activities and changed the style of her posts in the wake of the Moritomo Gakuen scandal.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Japan PM's wife in rare interview". BBC News. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^ "Japan's First Lady-to-Be an Avid Korean Wave Fan". The Chosunlibo World. 5 September 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Akie Abe not afraid to speak her mind". Japan Today. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ^ "Japan's first lady Akie Abe joins gay parade". The Straits Times. 27 April 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
- ^ Johann Hari (11 May 2018). "Japan, the place with the strangest drug debate in the world". Opendemocracy.net.
- ^ McCurry, Justin (24 February 2017). "Shinzo Abe and wife under pressure over ties to ultra-nationalist school". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "The Abes caught in political quagmire". Sentaku. 1 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Akie Abe's social media silence creates questions". Mainichi Daily News. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
External links
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