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Japan's Abe enjoys Duterte's folksy diplomacy in Philippines

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/01/13/abe-people.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe interacts with the neighbors of President Rodrigo Duterte before entering the residence of President Duterte at Dona Luisa village in Davao City. <cite>Reuters</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>DAVAO - With a visit to Philipine President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s bedroom, having one of the world&#x27;s rarest birds named in his honor and guided by a sockless host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a morning to remember on Friday.</p><p>Duterte, a charismatic politician known at home for his folksy charm, dropped many of the formal protocols normally associated with visits by a head of government as he took Abe on a tour of his beloved southern home city of Davao.</p><p>Abe&#x27;s day began with a visit to Duterte&#x27;s &quot;simple home&quot; for a breakfast of sticky rice cakes and mung bean soup, a presidential aide said, with the leaders dining at a wooden table before heading for a look around Duterte&#x27;s house.</p><p>&quot;We also showed him how the president enjoys the comfort of his own bed, including his old and favorite mosquito net,&quot; Duterte&#x27;s aide, Christopher Go, wrote on Facebook alongside a photo of the leaders smiling while standing next to the bed.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/01/13/abe-clothes.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Akie Abe, wife of Japan&#x27;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, receives a Filipiniana blouse from Philippines&#x27; President Rodrigo Duterte during their visit to the President&#x27;s residence at Dona Luisa Village in Davao City. <cite>Reuters</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>The leaders later had a casual meeting at a hotel overlooking the sea, where Duterte was photographed in a checkered shirt and long pants but no socks -- a familiar look for the 71-year-old who takes pride in his informal fashion style.</p><p>Abe&#x27;s next activity saw him standing in front of a stuffed Philippine eagle, the national bird and one of the world&#x27;s most endangered.</p><p>A ceremony saw a two-year-old eagle named Sakura after the famous Japanese cherry blossom.</p><p>Abe was given a photo of the eagle, which is kept at a nearby sanctuary, as well as a fluffy toy version draped in indigenous clothing.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/01/13/abe-frame.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">President Rodrigo Duterte hands over a framed photograph of a Philippine Eagle to Japan&#x27;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the ceremonial eagle naming at the garden area of Waterfront Insular Hotel. <cite>Reuters</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Abe, normally blue-suited and politically conservative who nevertheless showed off his fun side last year when he dressed up as video game icon Super Mario at the Rio Olympics&#x27; closing ceremony, appeared to enjoy the day.</p><p>He smiled and laughed throughout the eagle ceremony, and ended his Davao trip at a Japanese-language school where he was greeted by singing and flag-waving children.</p><p>Abe was the first foreign leader to visit the Philippines since Duterte took office just over six months ago.</p><p>His two-day trip began on Thursday with a much more formal itinerary in the capital of Manila, where he held meetings with Duterte at the presidential palace.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/01/13/abe-durian.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">President Rodrigo Duterte and Japan&#x27;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe try durian fruit after attending various events at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao City. <cite>Reuters</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Abe was also the first head of government to visit Davao, the largest city in the southern Philippines that is 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Manila.</p><p>Duterte, a longtime mayor of Davao before becoming president, has made developing the southern Philippines a top priority, arguing the region has been neglected by &quot;imperial Manila&quot;.</p><p>Abe flew from Davao to Australia on Friday afternoon as part of a trip that will include Indonesia and Vietnam.</p><div><strong>© 1994-2017 Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>DAVAO - With a visit to Philipine President Rodrigo Duterte's bedroom, having one of the world's rarest birds named in his honor and guided by a sockless host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a morning to remember on Friday.</p>

DAVAO - With a visit to Philipine President Rodrigo Duterte's bedroom, having one of the world's rarest birds named in his honor and guided by a sockless host, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a morning to remember on Friday.