SHE drinks, is passionate about soap operas, dances flamenco and once worked as a radio DJ. Meet Akie Abe, the new First Lady of Japan.

In Junichiro Koizumi, Japan had almost everything it could wish for in a prime minister: big, iconic hairstyles, recognition on the world stage and colourful hobbies, such as his extreme Elvis fandom. But through it all something was missing — the Prime Minister was single and Japan had no first lady to adore or abhor.

But now a nation obsessed with the clothes, jewellery and antics of its women celebrities can breathe a sigh of relief. In Mrs Abe, the vivacious 44-year-old wife of Shinzo Abe, who was confirmed as Prime Minister yesterday, Japan finally has a rich source of interest and glamour for those times when politics become too dull.

At events such as G8 summits, where Mr Koizumi cut a somewhat lonely figure, Japan will now be represented by a couple — a couple who caught the eye of the gossip-hungry Japanese weekly magazines long before Mr Abe held even a ministerial post. In 2003 an organisation lobbying for a national holiday to be dedicated to “good nuptial relations” identified Mr and Mrs Abe, who are childless, as Japan’s seventh-best couple.

It is unlikely that she will be fazed by the sudden lurch on to the global political scene. Since Mrs Abe’s husband entered politics in the early 1990s she has exemplified the Japanese ideal of a politician’s wife, campaigning vigorously on his behalf and dressing in the low-key style of his constituents.

Mr Abe’s staunch nationalism and avowed intention to reform Japan’s much cherished Constitution risk creating deep ideological divides across the nation. However, indications are that everyone will warm quickly to Mrs Abe.

She has learnt flamenco dancing, spent a period of the late 1990s as a radio DJ (where she was known as “Ackey”), and where Japanese political tradition would occasionally require her teetotal husband to drink heavily with constituents, she has gladly undertaken the duties on his behalf.

Mrs Abe’s family background will play an equally large role in her expected popularity. As one of Japan’s largest chocolate and confectionery producers, the Morinaga company holds a beloved place in the hearts of the increasingly sweet-toothed Japanese. Mrs Abe’s father is its president. A further quality certain to endear her to millions of housewives is that she shares their fascination with South Korean television soap operas. Like so many Japanese women who were bowled over by the male leads in dramas such as Winter Sonata, Mrs Abe undertook to learn a little Korean. Unlike most of them, though, she was able to use her husband’s influence to meet one of the actors, Park Yong Ha, in her favourite drama on a trip to Seoul.

According to Japanese reports, Mr and Mrs Abe, both keen golfers, had a game with Park and the three posed for a photograph at the end of the round. The picture was framed, but by the time it found its way to the Abe family mantelpiece Mr Abe’s face had been mysteriously cut out.

Men for the future

Yasuhisa Shiozaki, a close Abe ally, has been appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary

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