Akie Abe joined Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to inaugurate the Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor in Varanasi
Recalling Shinzo Abe’s 2015 visit to Varanasi with Modi, she said he had witnessed the Ganga Aarti and held the Ganga in great reverence. In September 2022, PM Modi travelled to Tokyo to bid farewell to his friend, while India observed national mourning on Abe’s demise.
Akie thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Yogi and the people of India for dedicating the memorial to her husband, saying she was “deeply moved and grateful” by the gesture. She said she had long wanted to visit Kashi herself and that the visit had fulfilled that wish. Akie also said that had Shinzo Abe been alive, he would have been delighted to see the memorial corridor and would have wanted to return to Varanasi. Yogi said the corridor symbolised the “unbreakable friendship, trust and shared heritage” between India and Japan. Recalling the bond between Modi and Abe, he said their friendship was built not on positions but on trust. Yogi said the Rudraksh Convention Centre itself was a symbol of India-Japan cooperation and recalled Abe’s contribution to strengthening bilateral ties. This was not protocol, it was a relationship,” Yogi said.
VARANASI: Akie Abe, widow of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, became emotional while recalling her late husband’s deep connection with Varanasi as she jointly inaugurated the Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at the Rudraksh Convention Centre on Wednesday.