Touring the University Park Campus on May 2 are, from left: USC President C. L. Max Nikias; Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe; and Niki C. Nikias. (USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan could not leave the U.S. without returning to USC.

Abe stopped at the University Park Campus on his way to Los Angeles International Airport on May 2, after a week of historic diplomacy that included a state dinner at the White House and the first address by a Japanese prime minister to a joint session of Congress.

It was Abe’s first time on campus in almost 40 years. He spent three semesters here in 1978 studying English and taking courses in political science, international relations and history.

On this visit, Abe strolled around a campus transformed by recent growth with the leader responsible for much of that growth, USC President C. L. Max Nikias.

In honor of Abe’s visit, Nikias presented the prime minister with a USC letterman’s jacket inscribed to “Shinzo Abe.”

“We are so proud to count Prime Minister Abe among USC’s most illustrious alumni, as his many accomplishments bring tremendous honor to the university,” Nikias said.

Read the full story here.