Shinzo Abe tumbles into bunker while golfing with Donald Trump
US President doesn't appear to notice his Japanese counterpart's fall
Numerous things have gone tumbling during Trump's whistlestop tour of East Asia, from China's trade deficit with the US, to the fish food that Trump was supposed to feed “gently” to a pond of precious koi carp.
However, one nose-dive that went unnoticed, by the US President at least, came courtesy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who fell head over heels into a sand bunker while golfing yesterday.
Having just successfully played a shot out of the bunker, Abe climbed to the edge of the sand trap, only for his foot to slip, sending him rolling backwards into the sand.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Trump, about 20m away at the time, didn't appear to notice his counterpart's dramatic tumble, but aerial footage later revealed Abe's gaffe.
The Japanese Prime Minister was reportedly unharmed in the incident, but News.com.au reports that many in Japan have mocked Abe's fall as symbolic of the power dynamic between the two leaders.
“Abe was ignored when he fell over backwards. He served Trump a lot of delicious food but in return all he got was being forced to promise to buy more weapons,” one user wrote on Twitter.
“Furthermore, Mr Trump ignored all of Mr Abe’s tweets. Mr Trump doesn’t even follow Abe on Twitter. And you call this best friend LOL?”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
How the War Department became the Department of Defense – and back againIn Depth In 1947 President Harry Truman restructured the US military establishment, breaking with naming tradition
-
Sudoku hard: December 8, 2025The daily hard sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Codeword: December 8, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Is Europe finally taking the war to Russia?Today's Big Question As Moscow’s drone buzzes and cyberattacks increase, European leaders are taking a more openly aggressive stance
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
South Africa wraps up G20 summit boycotted by USSpeed Read Trump has been sparring with South Africa in recent months
-
Trump pushes new Ukraine peace planSpeed Read It involves a 28-point plan to end the war
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned