The recently published memoir of former Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe, "Abe Shinzo Kaikoroku" has become an instant bestseller. Throwing insights into the world of diplomacy, Abe's memoir includes some notable anecdotes on global leaders including former U.S President Donald Trump, Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The memoir released on February 8 was a hit that reportedly made the publisher Chuokoron-Shinsha to twice the additional printings.
One of the interesting anecdotes mentioned in Abe's memoir is relating to Trump. The book mentions Abe's travel in Trump's bulletproof car in May 2019 and the moments when they watched sumo at the National Sumo Arena.
While noticing the people waving at the car, Trump had asked "Shinzo, are they waving at you or me? Told by Abe that they were of course waving to Trump, the Americal leader turned on the interior lights so that the crowd could see him waving back. Horrified, a Secret Service member sitting in front asked for the light to be immediately be turned off, to avoid giving which of the two Beasts was the dummy and which carried the actual President, reported Nikkei Asia.
Abe in his memoir also reportedly revealed that Trump's phone calls would sometimes last as long as 90 minutes.
The memoir also reveals that Barack Obama unlike Trump did not engage in small talks.
"In the seven years...in every meeting with foreign leaders, I brought up China and spoke of the need to watch its military buildup or aggressive maritime expansion...Some leaders would agree with me and some would not. If the country was close to China, they might very well tattletale to Beijing. But this was entirely expected," reported Nikkei Asia.
Abe also talks about India and his interaction with Narendra Modi, who is described as more understanding compared to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"Modi's stance was that India would not join the Quad if it was just the US and Australia," Abe said. "But if Japan was going to take the lead, he was going to say yes," reported Nikkei Asia.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Abe saying that "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 US can apply pressure involving the use of force."
