Japanese first lady plans to open beehive in Tokyo and harvest ‘Abe brand’ honey
Mrs Abe, who frequently speaks out on environmental and social issues, apparently took her inspiration on apiculture from her American opposite number, Michelle Obama, who has bees at the White House.
Step aside Abe-nomics, the Shinzo Abe brandwagon is rolling on – into honey – after the Japanese prime minister’s wife decided to establish a beehive at their official residence.
First lady Akie Abe wants enough hives to house up to 10,000 Japanese honeybees, right in the centre of Tokyo, and intends to harvest “Abe-brand” honey later this year, reports and an NGO said.
Mrs Abe, who frequently speaks out on environmental and social issues, apparently took her inspiration on apiculture from her American opposite number, Michelle Obama, who has bees at the White House.
The Ginza Honey Bee Project, a non-profit organisation that keeps honey bees in the Japanese capital, said they will offer a helping hand to Mrs Abe in how she should care for her bees.
The Abes visited Washington in April this year, where the two first ladies compared notes on the global decline in the number of bees.
Bees are vital to the life cycle of many plants, including a lot of crops grown for human consumption, because of their role in pollination.