NEW: 5 things to know about Japanese prime minister, first lady
As President Donald Trump travels to Palm Beach County this weekend for some "golf diplomacy" with the Japanese prime minister, here are five things to know about Shinzo Abe and Japan's first lady Akie Abe.
1. Government is in Shinzo Abe's blood.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers the keynote speech at the Japan National Tourism Organisation Seminar at the Hilton Hotel, Sydney, on January 14, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) Brook Mitchell/Getty Images
His grandfather was Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi — who also played a round of golf with a president, joined on a course near Washington, D.C., by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1957, according to Reuters. His great uncle, Eisuke Sato, also served as prime minister in the 1960s and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974.
2. He loves golf.
PM Abe's comment following the meeting with Mr. Donald Trump, President-elect of the United States of America
— PM's Office of Japan (@JPN_PMO) November 18, 2016
https://t.co/hCN7qHlnnh pic.twitter.com/LvMML5bweI
He gave Trump an expensive gold (the color, not the material) golf club in November on a visit to Trump Tower in New York City after Trump's election. The golf club was a driver — more specifically, a "Honma Beres S-05 with 9.5 degrees of loft with a 5S Armrq Infinity stiff shaft," according to Golf Digest, which also reported club's cost as $3,755. Trump reportedly gave Abe golf-related gifts in return.
3. Akie Abe is a gay rights advocate.
She often goes head-to-head with her husband's party on key issues, according to the Wall Street Journal. For example, she is against the country's efforts to increase use of and reliance on nuclear power, while her husband supports it.
4. The Japanese first lady loves the arts.
Akie Abe, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, walks past an installation from a Japanese artist while visiting the Art Gallery of New South Wales on January 14, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Rick Rycroft - Pool/Getty Images) Pool/Getty Images
She is a former radio DJ and a big fan of Korean culture.
5. Shinzo Abe made history with a visit to Pearl Harbor last year.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe listens at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam's Kilo Pier on December 27, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Abe is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor with a U.S. president and the first to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
He became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit Pearl Harbor with a U.S. president since the deadly 1941 attack, and the first to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. The prime minister went to the site with President Barack Obama in December.
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