It is from today's Sankei Shimbun.
One Year After Abe's Shooting
Former U.S. Presidential Aide Bolton: "A Leading Strategist in the International Community"
Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a very creative thinker and strategist in international affairs.
He was thinking about Japan's place in the world, its relationship with the U.S., and how to deal with the threats of North Korea and China.
He has made remarkable achievements in promoting the "Quad," a cooperation framework among Japan, India, Australia, and the United States.
Mr. Abe presented ideas necessary for Japan to continue as a normal country, including the Constitution.
Had he remained prime minister, he would have continued to play a leadership role in international affairs.
Mr. Abe's passing is a great tragedy for Japan, the United States, and the world.
Mr. Abe was very effective internationally because he was very knowledgeable about the subjects and priorities on his mind.
He had a good rapport with other countries' leaders and could explain Japan's position clearly and convince them why it was in their interest to work with Japan.
It was a quiet style of leadership.
While many other leaders did not, Abe understood then-President Trump well and knew how to deal with him.
He also saw through Trump's ideas.
He patiently listened as Trump rambled on about this and that, always bringing him back to China, North Korea, and other topics that Abe wanted to discuss.
I don't think any other foreign leader spent as much time with Mr. Trump as Mr. Abe did, regularly meeting him by phone and in person and even playing golf with him.
It is because Mr. Abe believed that communicating directly with the President of the United States would best serve Japan's national interests.
Whenever I met with Mr. Trump while he was my assistant to the President, he always asked me to "raise the issue" of the abductions with North Korea.
In fact, Mr. Trump raised the abduction issue every time he met with Kim Jong-un, then chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea.
When I first met with Abe in 2002, when he was Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, he was also working on the abduction issue.
He was not only relying on Mr. Trump but also pursuing his diplomacy.
Many politicians are very superficial in their core beliefs, but in my 20 years of watching Abe, he never lost sight of the abduction issue.
I believe that his sincere feelings for the abductees' families led to his admiration for Mr. Abe.
In addition, the current effort by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to increase defense spending is evidence of Abe's continuing influence within the LDP.
In the Indo-Pacific region, where a collective defense posture like that of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) does not exist, it is crucial to advance efforts to build a larger security cooperation framework and find ways to include Taiwan.
When I met Mr. Abe again at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump's private residence in southern Florida, shortly after I became his presidential aide, he smiled at me, shook my hand, leaned in, and said in English, "I am glad you are back.
He was indeed a great man.
I hope that Mr. Abe will remain in your memories.
(Interviewer: Kazuyuki Sakamoto)
2023/6/18, in Osaka
