Posted on 02/07/2023 7:32:14 PM PST by FarCenter
TOKYO -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump was "unconventional through and through," while Chinese President Xi Jinping was a "fierce realist."
This is how former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe describes the two leaders in a posthumous memoir that goes on sale in Japan on Wednesday.
Abe provided an in-depth look into his interactions with global leaders in the book, which is a collection of 18 interviews he gave after stepping down in October 2020.
Abe, who was assassinated while campaigning in Nara Prefecture in July last year, is the longest-serving Japanese prime minister, with his eight years and eight months in office.
The ex-leader framed his efforts to build rapport with Trump, including through rounds of golf, as a matter of protecting Japanese interests.
"Japan as a whole would have been in a difficult situation if it became a target" of Trump's criticism, Abe said of his approach. "It was important to create an environment where we could talk."
Trump did not see himself as the leader of the Western world, Abe said. "He saw things from a bilateral lens, like treating U.S.-China ties as a matter of the trade balance or looking at U.S.-Russia relations solely as a matte of national security," Abe said.
Abe said he repeatedly urged Trump "to act as the leader of the free world."
On former U.S. President Barack Obama, Abe said: "We only spoke about work. He is a type of person who is difficult to forge friendship with."
Abe said he noticed Xi stopped sticking to pre-prepared remarks at meetings around 2018, which he took as a sign of the Chinese leader's growing authority.
Xi once said he "would not join the American Communist Party if he were born in the U.S., and would instead be part of the Democratic or Republican party," according to Abe, who interpreted the remarks as a sign of a "fierce realist."
When it comes to Japan-China relations, "political skill is about managing national security issues while turning China's market into an economic opportunity for Japan," he said.
Abe met with Russian President Vladimir Putin 27 times while in office. "He may seem aloof, but he's actually quite down-to-earth," Abe said.
https://www.ft.com/nikkei-asia
Nikkei Asia
These articles are from Nikkei Asia, the FT’s sister publication covering politics, the economy, business and international affairs across the Asian region.
The FT is a hard leftist financial publication. Don’t expect them to convey an accurate picture of Abe.
Abe had some close friends in congress, He was considered a statesman.
He was assassinated, because he could not be compromised. Who did it? Go figure.
Keep in mind Nikkei is very pro-China.
Before Honest Abe died of SADS, did not see him opening up Japan for muzzie immigration from the mid-east and Africa.
Sudden Assassination Death Syndrome?
In other words, he sought relationships that provided results that were best for the USA and didn't try to be the President of Germany and France and Japan and Turkey and every other place in the world. And it turns out that what is best for the USA is in fact what is best for the free world. The result: surging prosperity here and abroad, peace breaking out all over the word and a US government totally unified to one singular vision and purpose: getting Trump out of office at any cost.
Why didn’t Trump change places though?
Video BIDEN: “Name me a world leader who changed places with Xi Jinping! Name me one! Name me one!”
https://rumble.com/v28qacg-biden-name-me-a-world-leader-who-changed-places-with-xi-jinping.html
Democrat policies are a hard sell if people are prosperous and happy. The intelligence community has to kick rocks if nations have peaceful win-win interactions.
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