As he grapples with mounting challenges both at home and abroad, it has become increasingly uncommon to see Prime Minister Shinzo Abe crack a smile in public.
A picture that surfaced online Wednesday, however, offers a rare glimpse of Abe's relaxed grin as he dined and confabulated with his predecessors during a recent getaway to a villa at the foot of Mount Fuji.
According to daily logs of Abe's activity kept by Kyodo News, the photo is from his trip on the night of Aug. 15 to a cottage owned by Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation. Along with Sasakawa, former prime ministers Yoshiro Mori, Junichiro Koizumi and Taro Aso accompanied Abe on the trip.