Akie Abe, the wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, broke down as she remembered her husband at the NDTV India-Japan Summit on Thursday.
Reminiscing about July 8, 2022, the day the former Japanese PM was shot dead during a political event in the country’s Nara, Abe said he was in a very good mood and had breakfast with her and his mother. She also remembered the last words he spoke to her before leaving for his political engagement.
“As usual, my husband had breakfast with his mother and me. He was in a very good mood. He said, ‘See you later’, then left the house. Those were his last words to me. More than four years have passed since then, and the world has changed so much,” she said, getting visibly emotional.
She said Shinzo Abe had so many plans for the world.
“Every day I think about my husband’s plans. He wanted to do so many things. Our world is full of worries these days, and in such a dark time, leaders should be positive. My husband believed this,” she added.
Akie Abe on Shinzo Abe’s Resilience
Abe said her husband came from a political family and had a “lucky” start in life. She said life knocked him down again and again, but he stood up.
“That was my husband’s life. In his mid-teens, he got a disease of the intestines. This disease never goes away completely. Once, during a hard election, his illness became worse. He even thought about a big operation. The doctor would take out his whole large intestine. Should he quit politics? He asked himself this question,” she said.
She said that 19 years ago, he came on an official India tour. During the trip, his illness got worse. He resigned as the Prime Minister a month later.
“He felt ashamed of his weak body. He was also afraid of people’s harsh words. For some time, he could not even leave the house. Then, in 2009, a light came into his life,” she said.
“Then, in 2009, a light came into his life. A new medicine came out. He started to take it. Almost at once, his illness calmed down. Perhaps he saw it as a second life from God. So, he made up his mind. He would hold nothing back,” she added.
Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Friendship
Akie Abe also dwelt on Shinzo Abe’s friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“So, he became Prime Minister for the second time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi soaked deep into my husband’s heart. The two men soon became very close friends. I often watched them from close by. From the start, their friendship was heart to heart,” she said.
“Let me move the clock forward. It was the day of my husband’s state funeral. I was sitting in the front row. Prime Minister Modi came over to me. He bent down low. He gently put his hand on my shoulder. He comforted me. No one else did that for me,” she added.
