U.S Media Report on Ex-PM Shinzo Abe’s Memoir

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:16 JST, February 11, 2023

U.S. media have been reporting on former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s newly published memoir, “Abe Shinzo: Kaikoroku.”

In the book — released Wednesday and published by Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc. — Abe explicates his approach to diplomacy and describes various events and behind-the-scenes activities that occurred during his long administration.

A Bloomberg report noted Wednesday that “the book relates details of his interactions with other global leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin.” The report includes Abe’s account of trying to establish a close relationship with former U.S. President Barack Obama: “To be honest, he was a difficult type for me to build friendly relations with. But there was no problem working with him.”

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday picked up on former U.S. President Donald Trump’s interactions with Abe before the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit in 2018, among other points. The WSJ report quoted Abe as saying to Trump: “What Kim Jong Un fears most is having a Tomahawk [missile] suddenly fired at him, and him and his family losing their lives. Only the U.S. can apply pressure involving the use of force.”