Japan's First Lady offers critics a household hotline to Abe

Tokyo

WITH high approval ratings stoking speculation that Shinzo Abe could become Japan's longest-serving prime minister in recent history, he faces the risk of becoming complacent.

Enter Akie Abe, his wife of 29 years. The 54-year-old daughter of a confectionery magnate is known in Japan as "the household opposition" for speaking out against key Abe policies such as backing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, exporting nuclear technology and expanding a United States military base on Okinawa.