Akie Abe, the widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was moved to tears in Varanasi on Wednesday as India and Japan opened a memorial corridor honouring her husband and his close friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He noted that Modi took oath as Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001, and said a new dimension had subsequently emerged in India-Japan friendship. The former Japanese prime minister was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2021. She recalled how Shinzo Abe visited Kashi with Modi in 2015 and witnessed the Ganga Aarti .
Akie Abe and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath jointly inaugurated the ‘Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor’ at the Rudraksh Convention Centre. She recalled the affectionate relationship between Modi and her husband and became emotional while speaking about their bond. Yogi recalled Shinzo Abe’s visits to India and his contribution to bilateral ties. Aki Abe also spoke about her long-standing desire to visit Varanasi.
“I was very happy to be invited to participate in this event,” she said, news agency ANI reported. Addressing the gathering, Yogi said the memorial corridor symbolised the strategic, cultural and diplomatic ties between India and Japan. She said it had been her heartfelt desire to visit the city and see everything with her own eyes. Aki Abe said she had been told that Varanasi was originally called Kashi, noting that both Kashi and Kyoto are ancient cities whose names begin with the letter ‘K’.
