Flip it and reverse it: Japanese Prime Minister says we’ve got his name the wrong way around
Japan’s Foreign Minister has said enough is enough, it’s time we say the Japanese leader’s name the right way.
Ahead of a series of international events, the Foreign Minister has requested Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to known from now as Abe Shinzo.
Dr. Lauren Richardson, Director of Studies at the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy at ANU says it’s common practice in Asian countries to go by your family name first.
“The Foreign Minister wants there to be more consistency,” says Dr Richardson.
“It looks as though he following the lead of his Korean and Chinese counterparts, Moon Jae-in and Xi Jinping, who both go by family names.”
So from here forward the English speaking world must refer to Shinzo Abe as Abe Shinzo.
Click PLAY to hear a full breakdown as to why the name change