Atsuko Abe Quotations

Ignore it. No answer is necessary, Your Excellency. The president does not know his place.

Our hour has come, ... We are a small island nation, placed by the gods beside a growing Chinese giant. We must have oil.

That, Your Excellency, is precisely the problem. As long as we are buying Russian oil, we are at their mercy. Japan must have its own resources.

You are born to your position, ... What do you know of struggle, of triumph?

The government must speak for you, and the nation, which are the same. That is the law.

Your Excellency, I am aware of my responsibilities,

Your Highness, we are at a critical juncture in our nation's history. The disruption of our oil supply was the final straw. It wrecked the economy. Japan is in ruins; millions are out of work. We must repair the damage and ensure it never happens again.

You reign, I rule. That is the Japanese way.

Do not speak to me of law. Not after what you have told me.

If you will give me a copy of the letter, I will have the foreign minister prepare a reply.

But you have signed an agreement with the Russians! They will sell us oil.

You carry a very heavy burden, Prime Minister. You carry the hopes and dreams of every Japanese alive today and those of our honored ancestors. You literally carry Japan upon your back.