「日本の真のリーダーだった」　菅前首相が弔辞―安倍氏国葬

　自民党の菅義偉前首相は２７日、安倍晋三元首相の国葬で友人代表の弔辞を述べた。官房長官として安倍政権を支えたことに関し、「あらゆる苦楽を共にし、本当に幸せだった」と振り返り、「日本にとって真のリーダーだった」と強調した。
　菅氏は、２０００年に安倍氏と北朝鮮問題を機に出会った経緯に触れ、「真っすぐな目、信念を貫こうとする姿勢に打たれ、私は直感した。いつか首相にならねばならない人だと」と回顧。２度目の党総裁選出馬を迷う安倍氏を説得したことを「生涯最大の達成」と誇った。
　安倍氏の銃撃事件にも言及し、「お目にかかりたい、同じ空間で同じ空気を共にしたい」との思いで、現場の奈良県に向かったと述懐。「悔しくてならない。悲しみと怒りを交互に感じながら、この日を迎えた」と語った。
　結びに、明治の元勲・山県有朋が盟友・伊藤博文をしのんだ「かたりあひて　尽し丶人は　先立ちぬ　今より後の　世をいかにせむ」との句を詠み上げ、自身の心情と重ねた。（2022/09/27-15:11）

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, the immediate successor to Shinzo Abe, said Tuesday that Abe was a true leader of the country.
   "I was truly happy as we shared all kinds of hardships and joys" while serving as Abe's chief cabinet secretary for seven years and eight months until September 2020, Suga said in a eulogy on behalf of Abe's friends at his state funeral in Tokyo.
   Suga said he got to know Abe in 2000. "Being overwhelmed by your straight eyes and resolve to stick to your belief, I had an intuition that you would become prime minister someday," he recalled.
   Saying that he persuaded Abe to run for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership race for the second time, Suga said "it was the greatest accomplishment of my life."
   Suga also said he went to the site in Nara Prefecture, where Abe was gunned down during a campaign speech on July 8, as he wanted to see Abe and share the same air in the same space.