As prime minister, Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, played Dwight Eisenhower in Maryland in 1957 in what the media described as a “triumph of diplomacy” between the former wartime enemies, and which paved the way for today’s “unshakeable” military alliance.
Abe, a member of the prestigious Three Hundred Club near Tokyo, where membership fees are as high as 80m yen ($715,000) a year, has kept his handicap a secret, but is rumoured to be no better than an average weekend golfer.
As he seeks concessions from Trump, the Japanese leader would do well to remember that on his grandfather’s outing on the links six decades ago, it was Eisenhower who emerged victorious.
