It is the chapter that I sent out on 2020-09-09.
Reading today's Nikkei, I am convinced that China undoubtedly influences the people in control of NHK's news department.
From what I know from watching it, it's Okoshi, Arima, and others, and their ilks like Takeda and Kamakura.
The first time I saw Prime Minister Abe in real life was when the Liberal Democratic Party was out of office.
The place was Hotel Nikko Osaka in Shinsaibashi.
I went down the escalator from the second floor.
He walked single-mindedly down the corridor to the subway, not turning aside.
It was when I was still a subscriber to the Asahi Shimbun.
There was a genuine politician there, a humble, serious, and genuine politician, quite different from what the Asahi had written about them.
I was shocked.
NHK, which continued to conduct public opinion polls of such a man with "untrustworthy character" as the number one reason for not supporting his administration, is many people with no ability to judge people.
No, it has proven to be an organization under the control of forces wishing to deny Abe his authority.
The Asahi Shimbun, China, and South Korea are the brains of the people who control the NHK news department.
It is no exaggeration to say that they are a group of traitors.
I am convinced that the best way to judge the authenticity of so-called "cultural people" is to "learn from Germany."
A close friend of mine once lived in the same apartment building as the late Masakazu Yamazaki.
I had never had a wrong impression of him until then, but from the moment he said in one of the newspapers that we should learn from Germany, he was nothing but a contempt object.
The same was true of the late Takeshi Umehara; in an ample space in the Yomiuri Shimbun, he said, "Learn from Germany."
Of course, neither of these men had the intellect to tell us to learn from Germany's long-term government.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that they are post-war intellectuals, the kind of brains made up of the Asahi Shimbun editorials.
Today's Nikkei article on page 3, "Germany turns its back on China," and the item by former Australian Prime Minister Turnbull on page 9 is the perfect testimony to the validity of my editorial on NHK.
Abe's Resignation: A Void in International Politics
It reminded the world and the Asia-Pacific region of the wise and calming words that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation, has conveyed over international affairs.
He was a good friend of Australia, and we worked together as prime ministers for many years, building a warm friendship based on mutual sincerity and trust.
In my correspondence with Sinzo, I was struck by his humor, charm, and, above all, his calmness.
I was with him at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Da Nang, Vietnam, in November 2017.
The leaders were trying to approve the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP11).
When U.S. President Trump signaled his withdrawal from the TPP, nearly everyone, including Sinzo, thought the agreement was dead.
I argued that the remaining 11 countries should proceed without the U.S.
Shinzo was concerned that TPP11 could anger President Trump and that the political situation in Japan would make it very difficult to do so.
It is because the United States has fallen outside the framework of the TPP.
It has been marketed for expanding access to the U.S. market.
Nevertheless, we agreed to stay in the agreement by the time we met in Sydney in January 2017.
Shinzo, too, began working to persuade the TPP nations to join us.
When Canada rejected the broad agreement at the last minute, he was neither angry nor resentful.
He calmly re-evaluated the situation and promised not to give up even if the TPP became ten or nine countries.
He had a clear vision of the framework's economic and strategic benefits and was determined to win both.
Finally, in March 2018, it signed TPP11 into law.
It would not have been possible without Japan's commitment, and it would not have been possible without Shinzo as a leader.
The fact that it reached the agreement despite the rise of protectionism means that, hopefully, other countries, including the United States, will join over time.
Shinzo's vision for the region was evident.
It is a free and open Indo-Pacific, where small nations could pursue their destiny under the rule of law and not be threatened by the great powers.
We aimed to ensure continued U.S. involvement in the region in the face of China's growing threat.
We have strengthened the partnership between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India through strategic dialogue.
Trump has begun to question the value of U.S. commitments to regional allies, arguing that Japan is not contributing enough to bear the cost of U.S. bases.
His erratic style of leadership made friends and enemies alike uneasy.
Many of his allies began to question whether they could trust the United States in the future.
These challenges demanded all of Shinzo's qualities.
We had to develop a very different trust with Trump than any other leader we had ever had.
When the three of us were together, it became clear that Trump was testing Shinzo with his provocations over Japanese history.
Shinzo was level-headed, calm, and friendly, but he always returned to the issues he wanted to pursue.
Shinzo's retirement as prime minister will leave a massive void in the international community he has long held in high esteem.
In all his negotiations, he was cordial and sincere.
It is a quality all too rare in political circles.
It will sorely miss him, but his friends worldwide thank him for his service and wish him a speedy return to health and a long and happy life with his wife.
*I had intended to follow this contribution with a three-page article, but I will end this chapter with a beautiful statement from former Prime Minister Turnbull, whose words deeply moved me.
Reading today's Nikkei, I am convinced that China undoubtedly influences the people in control of NHK's news department.
From what I know from watching it, it's Okoshi, Arima, and others, and their ilks like Takeda and Kamakura.
The first time I saw Prime Minister Abe in real life was when the Liberal Democratic Party was out of office.
The place was Hotel Nikko Osaka in Shinsaibashi.
I went down the escalator from the second floor.
He walked single-mindedly down the corridor to the subway, not turning aside.
It was when I was still a subscriber to the Asahi Shimbun.
There was a genuine politician there, a humble, serious, and genuine politician, quite different from what the Asahi had written about them.
I was shocked.
NHK, which continued to conduct public opinion polls of such a man with "untrustworthy character" as the number one reason for not supporting his administration, is many people with no ability to judge people.
No, it has proven to be an organization under the control of forces wishing to deny Abe his authority.
The Asahi Shimbun, China, and South Korea are the brains of the people who control the NHK news department.
It is no exaggeration to say that they are a group of traitors.
I am convinced that the best way to judge the authenticity of so-called "cultural people" is to "learn from Germany."
A close friend of mine once lived in the same apartment building as the late Masakazu Yamazaki.
I had never had a wrong impression of him until then, but from the moment he said in one of the newspapers that we should learn from Germany, he was nothing but a contempt object.
The same was true of the late Takeshi Umehara; in an ample space in the Yomiuri Shimbun, he said, "Learn from Germany."
Of course, neither of these men had the intellect to tell us to learn from Germany's long-term government.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that they are post-war intellectuals, the kind of brains made up of the Asahi Shimbun editorials.
Today's Nikkei article on page 3, "Germany turns its back on China," and the item by former Australian Prime Minister Turnbull on page 9 is the perfect testimony to the validity of my editorial on NHK.
Abe's Resignation: A Void in International Politics
It reminded the world and the Asia-Pacific region of the wise and calming words that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced his resignation, has conveyed over international affairs.
He was a good friend of Australia, and we worked together as prime ministers for many years, building a warm friendship based on mutual sincerity and trust.
In my correspondence with Sinzo, I was struck by his humor, charm, and, above all, his calmness.
I was with him at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Da Nang, Vietnam, in November 2017.
The leaders were trying to approve the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP11).
When U.S. President Trump signaled his withdrawal from the TPP, nearly everyone, including Sinzo, thought the agreement was dead.
I argued that the remaining 11 countries should proceed without the U.S.
Shinzo was concerned that TPP11 could anger President Trump and that the political situation in Japan would make it very difficult to do so.
It is because the United States has fallen outside the framework of the TPP.
It has been marketed for expanding access to the U.S. market.
Nevertheless, we agreed to stay in the agreement by the time we met in Sydney in January 2017.
Shinzo, too, began working to persuade the TPP nations to join us.
When Canada rejected the broad agreement at the last minute, he was neither angry nor resentful.
He calmly re-evaluated the situation and promised not to give up even if the TPP became ten or nine countries.
He had a clear vision of the framework's economic and strategic benefits and was determined to win both.
Finally, in March 2018, it signed TPP11 into law.
It would not have been possible without Japan's commitment, and it would not have been possible without Shinzo as a leader.
The fact that it reached the agreement despite the rise of protectionism means that, hopefully, other countries, including the United States, will join over time.
Shinzo's vision for the region was evident.
It is a free and open Indo-Pacific, where small nations could pursue their destiny under the rule of law and not be threatened by the great powers.
We aimed to ensure continued U.S. involvement in the region in the face of China's growing threat.
We have strengthened the partnership between the U.S., Japan, Australia, and India through strategic dialogue.
Trump has begun to question the value of U.S. commitments to regional allies, arguing that Japan is not contributing enough to bear the cost of U.S. bases.
His erratic style of leadership made friends and enemies alike uneasy.
Many of his allies began to question whether they could trust the United States in the future.
These challenges demanded all of Shinzo's qualities.
We had to develop a very different trust with Trump than any other leader we had ever had.
When the three of us were together, it became clear that Trump was testing Shinzo with his provocations over Japanese history.
Shinzo was level-headed, calm, and friendly, but he always returned to the issues he wanted to pursue.
Shinzo's retirement as prime minister will leave a massive void in the international community he has long held in high esteem.
In all his negotiations, he was cordial and sincere.
It is a quality all too rare in political circles.
It will sorely miss him, but his friends worldwide thank him for his service and wish him a speedy return to health and a long and happy life with his wife.
*I had intended to follow this contribution with a three-page article, but I will end this chapter with a beautiful statement from former Prime Minister Turnbull, whose words deeply moved me.
