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Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (1954-2022), Japan’s longest serving prime minister, was famously close to current President-elect Donald Trump during his first term. The prime minister interrupted an Asian conference to fly out to meet him in Trump Tower after he was elected in November 2016, becoming the first foreign leader to hold a meeting.
Abe was assassinated in the summer of 2022. The following year his memoir was released and instantly became a hit, selling 150,000 copies and garnering five printings in its first month.
Titled simply ‘Shinzo Abe’s Memoirs’ (Abe Shinzō Kaikoroku) the book was published by Chuokoron Shinsha (February 2023). It details his time as prime minister, outlining his dealings with world leaders including President Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, and Donald Trump.
While much of the media coverage of Trump focuses on his outlandish personality and character traits, Abe’s writings reveal a much more pragmatic approach. The Japanese leader sought to use his relationship with the U.S. president strengthen the Japan-U.S. Alliance, and seemed to enjoy his relationship with his counterpart in Washington.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who this week survived a vote to keep his post even after a weak showing in parliamentary elections last month, immediately reached out to Trump after his victory in the U.S. The two leaders spoke via phone and have agreed to meet soon.
The following are unofficial translations from Abe’s memoir.
Introductions at Trump Tower
There was the viewpoint that meeting with the incoming president before he took office would be disrespectful to the sitting president, Obama. But I thought it best to take the pragmatic approach and deal with the situation calmly.
Obama is, after all, a cool-headed person himself. When I informed the Obama administration of my plan to meet with Trump, they made several requests, such as refraining from having dinner with him and not allowing the press to take photos. I complied with their requests.
Ironically, this gave Trump and I time to have a deliberate and focused conversation, which helped us build a trusting relationship. It was also very significant that I visited him in Trump Tower in New York. This also gained the attention of the entire international community.
Official Business, then Golf
With Obama, I only discussed business. During a summit or dinner, even if I made a joke he would quickly steer the conversation back to the topic at hand. He didn’t respond to small talk. As a former lawyer, he takes a very detailed approach to his work. Honestly, he’s the type of person with whom it’s hard to build a friendly relationship. But as fellow leaders, we had no problem working together.
…
Phone conversations with President Obama were short, usually around 15 to 30 minutes. As the U.S. president, I assumed he couldn’t spare much time due to his busy schedule.
But Trump was different. He could spend a lot of time on calls. He could easily talk for an hour, or sometimes even an hour and a half. Long enough that I would be the one to get tired. As for what we would talk about, he would cover the main topic during the first 15 minutes, and then the remaining 70 or 80 percent of the conversation would be spent on golf or complaining about other world leaders.
Occasionally the people from my office that listened in on the calls would get a confused look on their face, probably wondering, “How long is Trump going to talk about golf?” The small talk would go on to the point that often I had to bring the conversation back to the topic at hand and sum everything up.
Ignoring Criticism
When the American investor George Soros visited in January, he warned me, “If you get that close to Trump, you’re going to face all kinds of criticism.”
“You’re the people that elected him. Not us,” I replied. “The United States is Japan’s most important ally. It’s an obvious responsibility of the Japanese prime minister to maintain a close relationship with the leader of our allies.”
Politicians need to be practical about relationships between our countries. This is different from commentators, who are free to say whatever they like.
Understanding “America First”
Trump had been a successful businessman who had absolutely no connection to politics or government. So his way of thinking is different from that of traditional politicians. He tried to bring his techniques from the business world to international politics. That’s where “America First” came from. But politics and business are different. Companies chase profits, but if a country only thinks about profit it can’t operate as a democracy. A politician must balance various interests in solving problems.
Before and during my first administration the leaders from the United States that I dealt with had a strong sense of identity and responsibility. They felt that their country was the leader of the Western world. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama, who I interacted with during my second administration, they all took that stance.
But Trump was different. He asked, “Why does the United States have to shoulder the responsibilities of Western nations?”
Candid Diplomacy
I think it’s important for the leaders of countries to be open with each other in order to build a trusting relationship. I tried to express my honest opinions to Trump, and I believe he was honest with me on many issues. But in the end, he would compliment me or give me half-compliments. When I spoke to him on the phone after I had announced I would step down from office, he told me, ”Maybe I conceded too much to you in trade negotiations, Abe-san.” Overall, I think we built a strong relationship between Japan and the United States.
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Author: Jay Alabaster