A brief moment of vulnerability in the normally stone-faced PM.

After relative success at the last national election, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looks secure to remain in office until 20 November, at which time he will become the longest serving prime minister in the county’s history.

It’s quite an achievement that he must be proud of, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him because for the most part Abe wears a half-smile sort of pokerface for most of his public appearances. Sure, he can occasionally be seen beaming at an ice cream or snow cone, but even those looks have a manufactured air about them, hiding what really going on upstairs.

That all went out the window earlier this week, however, when news cameras caught a glimpse of the elusive “angry Abe.”

At the very beginning of the video the prime minister can be seen walking into a press conference with a facial expression that runs the gamut from shocked to a sort of sad acceptance all over the course of about eight seconds. Here’s a breakdown.

Again, that whole range of emotions all took place from the moment he entered the room to the moment he sat down. That particular press conference was regarding next year’s budget proposal which despite being reduced by 10 percent, is still over 100 trillion yen, but what was really bothering Abe is anyone’s guess.

“Boy, Abe-chan really hates being on TV Tokyo.”
“I thought it was some kind of imitator at first. Wow, he’s pissed.”
“Those are all the faces I make when I poop.”
“Abe-chan kawaii!!”
“He looks like the kind of boss who’s yelling at his workers when a customer suddenly walks in.”
“Even though he’s under a lot of stress, he always keeps a calm face. Take care, Mr. Abe.”
“Do you think something happened? Or is that just what he normally looks like?”
“Grr… Abe smash!!!”

Perhaps more impressive than the intensity of his scowl was how fluidly he transitioned it into a smile. On one hand, whenever Abe’s long tenure as PM finally does come to an end, he appears to have a bright future as an actor. On the other hand, Canadians now have to think long and hard about whether he really liked their wooden beaver door knocker or not.

Source: YouTube/TV Tokyo, My Game News Flash
Images: SoraNews24
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