Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be pushing to sell Japan's atomic plants abroad, but his wife, Akie, doesn't seem to be on the same page, saying her "heart aches" to see him being pronuclear.
"I'm opposed to nuclear power," she said in a June 6 speech in Tokyo. "My heart aches to see him selling nuclear power overseas."
Her comment came a day before her husband and French President Francois Hollande agreed to cooperate on developing and exporting nuclear power technologies.
"I think it's an important technology," she said. "But it'll be better if Japan can use part of the money used for nuclear power to develop new energy and sell Japan-made clean energy . . . overseas."
An ex-radio DJ, Akie Abe said she will say out loud what her hubby may not want to hear. "I'm the opposition party at home. But I try to say it euphemistically so as not to hurt him."
On when Abe quit as prime minister in 2007, she said she couldn't go out to face public critics.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.