Author: Ma Chengsan Bian Yufang
"The husband is honored by the dynasty, and the wife is noble in the room." In the United States, the president's wife is known as the "first lady" and belongs to the influential figures. Mrs. Clinton,Hillary Clinton, Mrs. Obama's Michelle, and Trump's Wife Melania's—once had the highest rate of appearances among American women.
Compared with the "publicity" of the "first lady" of the United States, the wife of the prime minister of Japan is generally more "low-key", and some people feel overwhelmed when their husbands are honored. Before the birth of the first Abe cabinet, Japan did not even have the title of "first lady" and did not appear much in the media.
The japanese prime minister's wife and the U.S. president's wife are "very different in style", some people think it reflects the differences between Eastern and Western cultures, and others think it is related to the inequality between men and women in Japanese society: according to the World Economic Forum survey (2022), Japan's gender equality index ranks 116 out of 146 countries, ranking the bottom among major developed countries.
In fact, the wife of the Japanese prime minister is not very good. They participate in "election aid" when they are the wives of ordinary members of Parliament; After becoming the prime minister's wife, he also has to "go to" the "hall" of diplomatic activities; In terms of psychological quality, it is necessary to be able to withstand the pressure of the husband being "denounced"; Madame's behavior can add points to the prime minister, may also subtract points, and even add to the chaos.
Pictured is Abe's wife, Shōe
1. The prime minister's wife of Japan is not good
There are various types of Prime Minister's wives in Japan, including those who are actively involved in public activities. The activities they participated in were mainly to comfort the disaster areas, inspect cultural undertakings, visit sports competitions and receive guests. Sometimes he accompanies the Prime Minister and sometimes participates as a representative of the Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister's wife "is not a public servant, but only a private person", which was confirmed by the Japanese government in the form of a cabinet resolution.
Japan's prime minister is elected from among the members of the Diet, and is generally senior, with an average age of more than 60 years old when he takes office. As a member of Parliament, the wife usually takes it for granted to participate in the "election aid"; If the husband becomes prime minister (party head), his wife may also take on the task of solidarity with other candidates.
The election assistance activities of the politician's wife can be described as "ten people and ten colors", some vigorous, some relatively flat.
Gunma Prefecture is a place rich in prime ministers, and Takeo Fukuda and Yasuo Fukuda, Yasuhiro Nakasone, and Keizo Obuchi were all elected from the three districts of Gunma, and Takeo Fukuda, along with Nakasone and Obuchi, was both "comrades-in-arms" and competitors within the Liberal Democratic Party.
At that time, Mrs. Mie of Fukuda, Mrs. Tsukiko of Nakasone, and Mrs. Chizuruko of Obuchi, went to great lengths to help her husband choose: Mrs. Fukuda opened a "Fukuda Canteen", Mrs. Nakasone came to a "Nakasone Restaurant", and Mrs. Obuchi did not want to show weakness and built a "ramen shop". Mrs. Obuchi seemed to be weak, and even set an indicator: "Do not shake hands with 200 people every day and do not sleep."
Nakasone's wife, Tsukiko, is the third daughter of Eiichiro Kobayashi, a geologist and professor at Meiji University. She wanted to marry a civil servant to live a peaceful life, but Nakasone resigned from politics "without authorization", and as a wife, she had to go to the constituency to pay respects.
It is said that Madame Tsubasa's "spirit of worship" was so great that once someone in the crowd shouted, "If you need votes so much, kneel down for us!" Unexpectedly, Madame Tsubasa did not hesitate to kneel on the mud floor, just like Han Xin who was willing to suffer the "humiliation of crotch".
Mrs. Nobuko, Prime Minister of the Democratic Party of Japan Naoko Suga, belongs to the "strong woman". Not only did she actively campaign for her husband, but she also joined forces with the wife of Yukio Hatoyama to gather the wives of the members of the Democratic Party of Japan to form a "supporting group" and named it "Oh! Winning Lady". This "election aid group" gave speeches in support of the Democratic Party candidates, and the wife of former Prime Minister Hosokawa Goxi, who was born in Japan's New Party, also participated.
Mrs. Nobuko graduated from Tsuda Juku University and Waseda University, participated in the civic movement for a long time, and is also an essayist herself, and her books are much better than her husband's books; Hatoyama's wife was originally an actor in the Takarazuka Opera Company, who had lived in the United States and was not afraid to appear; Hosokawa's wife, Kayoko, was sent to Europe after graduating from Sochi University and was an organizer of volunteer activities.
According to Mrs. Nobuko, the wives of politicians (members of parliament) are not good, especially the wives of politicians in the local constituency, and may have to go through various tribulations.
Members of the Diet from local constituencies also use Tokyo as a base for political activities and life, and their wives may be "Tokyoites" who were born and raised in Slovak. For the sake of their husbands' futures and livelihood, they need to go to their husbands' constituencies to "be close to the people" and "mingle" with the lady of the shopping street.
This "role change" is not simple, from speech and demeanor to dress, it must be suitable for the local environment. In order to avoid causing disgust, even the color of the skirt should be paid attention to, and the pink skirt should never be worn. If the husband is the "second generation of politicians" who inherited the territory of his father, the voters will also compare with the "former wife".
For the Tokyo-born wife, this level is very difficult to break through, and some people have psychological obstacles because they do not adapt, and even divorce. In fact, many politicians' wives were initially reluctant to let their husbands participate in politics.
Yasuo Fukuda's wife, Kiyoko, whose grandfather and uncle were both politicians, may have seen the hardships of being a politician's wife and decided not to marry a politician. When Yasuo Fukuda proposed to her, he offered that "you will not be the wife of a politician."
Unexpectedly, the second brother who was preparing to take over suddenly fell ill, and the elder Fukuda (Fukuda Takeo) asked Yasuo to take over, and Yasuo, as the eldest son, had to obey. At that time, The Kangfu couple had been married for many years and had become parents, and the wife could only "sing with the husband and the wife".
Since his student days, Abe's stomach has not been very good. When he was vice chairman of the LDP's parliamentary countermeasures, he was hospitalized for three months because he could not eat normally, and he dripped every day and lost a sharp weight.
Mrs. Akira couldn't stand it and tearfully told Abe, "Don't be a politician anymore." It is said that in 2007, when Abe "retired from illness" and was hospitalized, Mrs. Akie again persuaded Abe to retire from politics, but Abe refused.
In September 2020, after Suga succeeded Abe as prime minister, his wife, Mariko, was overwhelmed by her girlfriend's disclosure and shouted "What can I do about this?".
2. It is necessary to have a strong psychological quality, and to "go up" to the "hall" of diplomacy
As the prime minister of Japan, it is common to be criticized and "denounced". The Chinese saying is that "the prime minister can hold a boat in his belly", in fact, "the wife of the prime minister" also needs to have a fairly strong psychological quality.
According to Suga's wife, Nobuko, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Mrs. Nobuko went to the disaster area to offer condolences, and some of the victims were dissatisfied with Prime Minister Suga's disaster relief command and asked the prime minister to resign in front of his wife, while Lady Nobuko replied with a pleasant face: "Okay, I will definitely tell you."
Abe's wife, Akira, once posted photos on the Internet under the title of "I took a photo with this person yesterday and shook hands." One day, in a group photo posted, the other party was a man holding a sign in his hand, which read, "Resolutely say 'no' to 'Abe Politics,'" and Mrs. Akira next to her was still smiling.
Yasuhiro Nakasone was in power for a long time, because he won the election and extended it by an exception of one year, but he did not have a good life in the later stages of the regime. One night, Nakasone came home to see his wife alone watching TV, the room was not lit, and the TV was playing the program of "Denunciation" of Zengen, and suddenly felt very sorry for his wife.
After Nakasone stepped back, he felt that his wife's breathing became even when she slept, so she chanted a poem: "Autumn is good to sleep, and the old wife is also wide in her dreams."
Women have been asked to "go up to the hall and get down to the kitchen," and as the wife of a modern Japanese prime minister, the scope of the "hall" has been expanded overseas: foreign heads and wives who accompany the prime minister on his visits and participate in receiving them.
The most eye-catching of these is undoubtedly the participation as the "first lady" in the annual summit of developed countries. The shot of the head couple walking down the gangway hand in hand is transmitted around the world every year through the airwaves.
However, such a lens is rarely aimed at the wife of the prime minister of Japan. For Japanese TV viewers, the only people who are impressed by former Prime Ministers Hatoyama and Abe may be the couple.
For this kind of "hall", some people adapt, and some people do not adapt. Former Prime Minister Abe's successor, Yoshihide Suga, waved off the plane himself during his visit to Vietnam, while his wife took a step back and bowed repeatedly, being commented overseas as a "wife who did not show her head." In fact, this is the consistent action of Mariko, and it is said that it is also like this when assisting in the election.
Mrs. Kakuei Tanaka and Mrs. Tomiichi Murayama never participated in social activities at home and abroad, and Mrs. Tanaka did not even participate in the election activities. When visiting abroad and receiving foreign heads of state visits, they need to be accompanied by a "first lady", and both are replaced by "first daughters".
Tanaka was accompanied by his eldest daughter, Makiko Tanaka, and Murayama by his second daughter Yuri Nakahara (Yukiri Murayama before marriage). Yuri Nakahara was the secretary of Prime Minister Murayama, and led his son-in-law and two grandsons to accompany Murayama to the Prime Minister's official residence.
In Japan, not only do "first daughters" replace "first ladies", but also "seconded" to act as "first ladies". Fukuda Yasuo's wife Kiyoko had this peculiar experience: Junichiro Koizumi was a bachelor, the foreign head of state came to visit with his wife, and Irie should have a "first lady" to participate in the reception, when Fukuda Yasuo was the chief cabinet secretary in Koizumi Cabinet, and his wife Takayoko was "arrested".
A year after Koizumi retired, Fukuda succeeded Abe, who had retired from illness, as prime minister, and Kiyoko became the real "first lady". Kiyoko is a 1.7-meter tall student at Keio University who speaks fluent English and has been trained in the tea ceremony for more than 30 years. It is said that as the "first lady", Kiyoko is very handy in entertaining guests, and is well received by the wives of foreign heads of state. She experienced being the "first lady" in advance, which should belong to the "auspicious omen".
The picture shows Naoto Kan's wife Nobuko
3. "The Work of Internal Assistance": Extra Points? Minus points?
Japanese people often talk about "the merit of internal assistance", and the "successful man" like the prime minister praises his wife.
Takeo Fukuda and Yasuo Fukuda father and son are typical, and the elder Fukuda said that he was "grateful, grateful, and grateful" to his wife; Kang Fu said that he "could not lift his head" in front of his wife, positioning her as "respecting his wife", "fearing his wife", "loving his wife" plus "quarrelsome opponents".
The "internal help" and "health management" of the politician's wife are important contents, of which "getting the kitchen" is indispensable. Yasuo Fukuda's Mrs. Kiyoko originally could not cook and cook, but when she first got married, Yasuo ate the meal involuntarily frowned, and later Kiyoko studied cooking and became a "master of cooking".
Suga's wife, Mariko, has a very good set of "health management" for her husband, and there must be vegetables for breakfast, as well as natto, yogurt and handmade curry soup. Yoshihide Suga, who was 164 centimeters tall, once weighed 76 kilograms, but was later successfully reduced to 62 kilograms, and Lady Mariko was indispensable.
"Health management" also includes responding to visitors, especially to prevent harassment by the media.
Some politicians' wives, in the name of "health managers," posted notices at their doors that read, "Do not disturb after ○○ hours." Mrs. Haneda said about the child's study, saying that "children prepare for the exam, please do not disturb."
For the same reason, the four seasons remained the same, and some reporters said sarcastically that "always preparing for the exam, it seems that this child's grades are too poor" - in fact, Haneda's son Yuichiro was very successful, and later became a member of the Senate and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Takeo Miki's wife Mutsuko is even more distinctive, giving her husband a break and hosting reporters herself.
Mrs. Muzi is virtuous and educated, knowledgeable, especially political, and can talk to reporters.
Among the wives of the prime ministers of the past, Mrs. Muzi is known as the "strongest wife", bold and bold, and her courage is outstanding. Mrs. Muzi herself is a social activist, with her own political stance, and often speaks actively on political issues. People who are familiar with Mr. and Mrs. Miki even think that "if Lady Mutsuko were a man, she would definitely ascend to the prime minister's throne earlier than Miki."
In stark contrast to Mutsuko Miki is Suga's wife, Mariko. Mariko's personality is more introverted, not good at socializing, and belongs to the type of cooking for her husband and supporting her husband at home.
In the September 2020 LDP presidential election, Suga's rivals Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba's wife both actively gave interviews to television, but Only Lady Mariko refused.
Judging from the exposure in the media, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife, Akira Abe, can win the championship. Mrs. Akira is the founder of the famous Japanese large company Morinaga, and has a free-spirited and unrestrained personality.
Mrs. Akira's activities began during the first Abe cabinet (September 2006 – September 2007), when she openly criticized the government's policies on issues such as nuclear energy and consumption tax increases, opposing Prime Minister Abe and calling herself the "opposition party within the family." She also runs a sake brewery in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, where she is her own president, selling pesticide-free and additive-free ingredients made in Japan.
What made Mrs. Akira the most exposed in the media was undoubtedly the "Moritomo Gakuen" incident that shocked Japanese society.
Moritomo Gakuen, a private school in the Osaka area known for its emphasis on cultivating students' "patriotism," was "deeply moved" by the recitation of the pre-war "Edict of Education" (Emperor Meiji's "Holy Will" on education).
The operator of "Moritomo Gakuen" was very scheming, took pictures and videos, and invited Mrs. Akira to serve as the honorary principal of the elementary school under "Gakuen". They used this political capital to buy state-owned land in the name of expanding their causes.
Officials in charge of the local government were so adept at "thinking about it" that they sold state-owned land, which was estimated at 956 million yen, to Moritomo Gakuen for 134 million yen, which was equivalent to an 86 percent discount, amounting to nearly 800 million yen.
After the matter was exposed, the competent authorities did a lot of tricks, and according to the instructions of their superiors, they had to tamper with documents with conscience, and committed suicide because of too much mental pressure.
This incident of selling state-owned land at an ultra-low price was investigated by the opposition parties and public opinion, which repeatedly demanded that Mrs. Zhao's wife be summoned to testify before the National Assembly. In the situation of "Abe alone", although the matter was suppressed, it was far from over.
Mrs. Akie also did something that added to Prime Minister Abe's confusion: In March 2020, in the face of the continuous expansion of the new crown virus infection, Prime Minister Abe called on the people to "not let down their guard", "to put the prevention of the expansion of infection first" and "take action to protect themselves".
The day after Prime Minister Abe issued his call, Mrs. Akie went on a trip to Kyushu and visited usa Jingu Shrine in Oita Prefecture with a group of about 50 people; During the cherry blossom season, the Abe cabinet demanded that the people "exercise self-restraint," but Mrs. Akie took more than a dozen people to enjoy the flowers.
Some analysts believe that Mrs. Shōe has a sense of privilege, coupled with the continuation of the "Abe independence" system for many years, I have lost my vigilance, and there is a lack of advice around me; Officials threw in their favor and responded to each other, and the so-called "degree of contempt" became more and more intense. Later, there were also calls from within the Kuomintang for Mrs. Zhaohui to be careful in her words and deeds, but it was too late.
"Internal help" can add points, can also subtract points, and may even add chaos.