9/25/2006

Japan’s hawkish new PM has Korea-loving wife
Sun Sep 24, 3:43 PM ET, TOKYO (AFP) – Japan is set to have a new-generation First Lady, Akie Abe, a socialite and fan of Korean culture who may be able to soften the hawkish image of her husband, incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe…While Shinzo Abe is teetotal, Akie Abe is known to enjoy an occasional drink. She also studies flamenco dancing, a talent she has shown off for the cameras.…more…

Hmm…First Lady Akie is a flamenco private-dancer for the Japanese press corps. Gee, she does sort of sound like a lush. However, the really bizarre thing is the PM Abe is a teetotaler in Japan, the Land of Sacred Projectile-Vomiters (Japanese salarymen always seem to have their shoes full of barf after 11pm).

Another bizarre thing is that the Japanese Prime Minister has a wife. Why? The only time you ever see the wife of a Japanese prime minister is on overseas trips. In Japan, the First Lady is always invisible. Before ex-PM Koisumi (divorced), Japan had a new prime minister every few months and many of them I never saw their wives on TV.