Akie Abe

Akie Abe (安倍 昭恵, Abe Akie), née Matsuzaki (松崎 昭恵, Matsuzaki Akie), was born on June 10, 1962, in Japan. She is the daughter of a wealthy family; her father served as the president of Morinaga & Co., a major Japanese confectionery company. She attended Sacred Heart School in Tokyo, a Roman Catholic private school offering education from elementary through high school, and subsequently graduated from Sacred Heart Professional Training College.

Following her education, Akie Abe worked for Dentsu Inc., the largest advertising agency in the world. In 1987, she married Shinzo Abe, who later served as Prime Minister of Japan during two terms, from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. The couple did not have children, having undergone unsuccessful fertility treatments earlier in their marriage. Their marriage continued until Shinzo Abe's assassination on July 8, 2022.

In the late 1990s, Akie Abe worked as a radio disc jockey (DJ) in Shimonoseki, her husband's hometown. She was known publicly by her DJ name, "Akky," and gained popularity in the broadcast area.

After her husband's first tenure as Prime Minister, she opened an organic izakaya (Japanese pub) in the Kanda district of Tokyo. However, she was not involved in the management of the establishment, as she was advised by her mother-in-law to refrain from active management.

In March 2011, she earned a master's degree in Social Design Studies from Rikkyo University.

Akie Abe became recognized for her candid views and was sometimes referred to as the "domestic opposition party," due to her outspoken opinions that occasionally diverged from her husband's political stance. She is known for advocating for sexual minority rights and LGBT community issues. On April 27, 2014, she participated in Tokyo's gay pride parade to demonstrate support for broader LGBT rights.

In 2015, she was photographed in a field of cannabis plants, supporting the revival of cannabis culture in Japan.

During her husband's time in office, she developed a close association with Moritomo Gakuen kindergarten in Osaka, known for its conservative educational practices, including adherence to the Imperial Rescript on Education. She was appointed as honorary principal of Mizuho no Kuni, an elementary school under development by Moritomo Gakuen; however, she resigned from this position in February 2017 after authorities revealed that Moritomo Gakuen had purchased the land for the school at a significantly reduced price—about 14% of its appraised value—leading to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal. This incident highlighted the complex role of the prime minister's spouse in Japan, as she was supported by civil servants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, implying that her role carried certain public duties despite her non-official status.

Akie Abe was the first spouse of a Japanese prime minister to actively utilize social media. She maintained an active presence on Facebook and Instagram but significantly reduced her activity and altered the style of her posts following the Moritomo Gakuen controversy.

After the assassination of Shinzo Abe, Akie declined to run for his parliamentary seat in Yamaguchi's 4th district. Instead, she supported Shimonoseki city councilman Shinji Yoshida, leading his political campaign. Yoshida was elected in a by-election held in April 2023, and in June 2023, Akie became chairwoman of Yoshida's political support group (koenkai).

In December 2024, Akie Abe was among the first foreign officials to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during a private dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.