Golfing with Trump, Super Mario: a look back at Japan’s Shinzo Abe era

Name: Japan’s outgoing prime minister Shinzo Abe bids farewell
Uploaded: 2020-09-16T09:00:08.000Z
Duration: 1 min 19 s
Description: Japan’s outgoing prime minister Shinzo Abe bids farewell

From a turn as Super Mario to a visit to the controversial Yasukuni shrine, here are some of the key moments of Abe’s record-breaking time in office

The former PM has said little about what he thinks his legacy will be, but he has cited one particular point of pride: bringing Obama to Hiroshima in 2016

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Shinzo Abe appears as the Nintendo game character Super Mario during the closing ceremony at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: Kyodo/AP

Agence France-Presse

Published: 5:00pm, 16 Sep 2020Updated: 8:02pm, 16 Sep 2020

Shinzo Abe resigned on Wednesday as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, ending a tenure studded with headline-grabbing moments, from a turn as Super Mario to a controversial shrine visit that sparked regional anger.

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Japan’s outgoing prime minister Shinzo Abe bids farewell

Here are some of the most memorable moments of Abe’s record-breaking time in office.

The bromance

Abe made building a close personal relationship with US President Donald Trump a cornerstone of protecting the key alliance.

In 2016, he flew to New York to chat with the then president-elect, becoming the first foreign leader to meet Trump at his Manhattan skyscraper.

The pair regularly golfed together, and Trump was the first head of state to meet Japan’s new emperor.

But there were plenty of awkward moments.

In 2017, a video went viral of Trump almost wrestling with Abe in a handshake that lasted 19 seconds and ended with the Japanese leader visibly grimacing and appearing relieved the encounter was over.

And then there was their 2018 golf game, when Abe tumbled backwards into a bunker and Trump marched down the fairway seemingly oblivious.

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Trump state visit to Japan: talks, golf and sumo with Abe, red-carpet welcome from new emperor