For the first time ever since his first appointment as Japan’s prime minister in 2006 – and his second in 2012 – Shinzo Abe has finally announced he will start actively using Instagram in 2018.
The 57th Prime Minister of Japan first made the announcement on Friday when he made his first ever social media post with the caption that reads: “I will finally start doing Instagram in 2018,” accompanied by hashtags saying “first post” and “beginner,” according to Kyodo News via Japan Today.
The post also contained a photo of his nameplate, which he used when he appeared in the popular Japanese variety show in 2014 “Waratte-iitomo!”
Despite only being a few days old, Abe’s Instagram account has already amassed over 68,000 followers as of the time of writing. So far, the 63-year-old politician only followed six other accounts, and as said on the report, they are: his fellow Liberal Democratic Party, cabinet members and fellow LDP politicians, Seiko Noda and Hiroshige Seko, his wife Akie Abe, former Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Mao Asada, the now-retired figure skater who won the silver medal in the 2010 Olympics.
Earlier this month, organizers awarded the word “Insta-bae,” which means “looking good on Instagram,” as one of the country’s top buzzwords for 2017, Kyodo News reported. This came along as many business uploaded photogenic products for people on the social media platform.
Abe was first appointed as Japan’s prime minister on September 26, 2006. However, he resigned exactly one year after he took the seat with low approval ratings as well as poor health as the primary reasons. He ran for the second time around in 2012, and officially won on December 26 of that same year, according to his biography page.
Featured image via Instagram / shinzo_abe_921
