Mitsu Abe

Mitsu Abe (born May 12, 1886, date of death unknown) was the wife of a Japanese politician and the First Lady of the Cabinet. She is known as the wife of Japan’s 36th Prime Minister, Nobuyuki Abe. Her place of birth was Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

Regarding her background, she was born in 1886 (Meiji 19) as the eldest daughter of Chishin Hara, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army’s Quartermaster Corps. Her father held a military position. Later, in Kanazawa, she married Nobuyuki Abe, who was a junior colleague of her father, Chishin Hara. After marriage, she bore two sons and four daughters.

Concerning her children, her eldest son Shinnō was not a military man but worked as an engineer for Sumitomo Metal. Her second son, Nobhiro, graduated from the Army Officer School and became an army officer. Her daughters married into well-to-do families.

She was active from the 1930s to the 1940s and was known for her activities during the intensification of World War II. There are stories about her during the final stages of the war. Notably, she is associated with an incident on August 15, 1945, when Japan announced its surrender and defeat, which she experienced in Keijo (now Seoul), Korea.

The next day, under orders from the Busan Regional Transportation Bureau Director, she attempted to escape from Busan port to Japan aboard an old vessel ahead of civilians. However, due to bad weather and overloading of cargo, the old ship nearly sank near Kijima, near Busan. As a result, she abandoned traveling by boat and transferred to a train, returning from Busan Station to Gyeongseong Station.

Her exact date of death remains unknown, but there are records of her activities after the war and her historical background.