Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shared a close and special bond with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tomohiko Taniguchi, who worked as Abe’s main foreign policy speechwriter for around 15 years, has revealed.
“The two of them hit it off almost at once,” he said at the NDTV India Japan Summit 2026. According to Taniguchi, both leaders saw each other as a “kindred spirit”.
He said India and Japan already had a long history of friendship. He recalled the connection between Japanese scholar Okakura Tenshin and Rabindranath Tagore more than 100 years ago.
After Abe’s death in 2022, PM Modi wrote a tribute titled “My Friend Abe-san”.
“It is a piece I cannot recall without my eyes welling up,” Taniguchi said. He also recalled a recent meeting between Modi and Abe’s wife, Akie Abe. Taniguchi accompanied her to the Prime Minister’s Office, where they met Modi for more than 40 minutes.
Pleased to meet Mrs. Akie Abe, wife of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Deeply value her enduring association with India. Abe San was a dear friend and a visionary leader who played a defining role in elevating India-Japan relations to new heights. The inauguration of the Abe Memorial Corridor at the Rudraksh Convention Centre in Varanasi yesterday is a fitting tribute to his lasting contribution to India-Japan friendship. 故安倍晋三元首相の昭恵夫人とお会いでき、嬉しく思います。長年にわたるインドとの深いご縁を心より大切にしております。 安倍さんは親愛なる友人であり、インドと日本の関係を新たな高みへと導いた先見性あるリーダーでした。昨日ヴァラナシのルドラクシュ・コンベンション・センターに「安倍メモリアル・コリドー」が開設されたことは、印日友好関係の発展に対する安倍首相の多大な功績を称えるふさわしい記念となりました。 @akie_official
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 8, 2026
He described Modi as “warm, kind and thoughtful” and said the meeting was filled with “love and affection”. He also called the bond between the two leaders as “a communion of soul with soul”.
He said Abe believed India would become increasingly important as China’s economic and military power grew. “And so Abe decided to place his bet on the future of India,” he said.
Taniguchi mentioned that Abe believed India would one day overtake China in the size of its economy. He also believed India would continue to strengthen its military while protecting its democracy.
Taniguchi said Abe had all three types of leadership described by German sociologist Max Weber – leadership that comes from institutions, tradition and personal influence.
But he said Abe had another quality that made him different. “I mean affection. I mean kindness. I mean a heart that holds people dear,” Taniguchi said. He also stated that Abe cared about the people around him and treated them with warmth.
He recalled that when Abe was asked why his second government lasted so long, the former prime minister would say, “I had good companions”.
Taniguchi also spoke about Abe’s long battle with ulcerative colitis. He said Abe had suffered from the disease from a young age. His health problems forced him to step down as prime minister after his first term.
However, after receiving treatment, Abe returned to politics. He became prime minister for a second time in 2012 and went on to serve for several years. “Shinzo Abe was a man who waged a long struggle against an incurable disease, and who, in spite of everything, never gave up,” Taniguchi said.
