With high approval ratings stoking speculation that Shinzo Abe could become Japan¡¯s longest-serving prime minister in recent history, he faces the risk of becoming complacent. Enter Akie Abe, his wife of 29 years.
The 54-year-old daughter of a confectionery magnate is known as ¡°the household opposition¡± for speaking out against key Abe policies such as backing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, exporting nuclear technology and expanding a U.S. military base on Okinawa.
¡°I want to pick up and pass on the views that don¡¯t get through to my husband or his circle,¡± Akie said in an interview last week at a restaurant she opened in central Tokyo four years ago. ¡°That is a bit like an opposition party, I suppose.¡±
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