Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, an influential figure in Japan and around the world, was assassinated during a campaign speech on last Friday in Nara, Japan. He died at the age of 67.
Mr. Abe came from a political dynasty with nationalist views. His maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, class-A war criminal suspect in World War II (WWII), established the liberty democratic party in 1955, which later becomes the most powerful party in Japan, and led the country as Japanese prime minister during 1957 to 1960. His father, Shintaro Abe, a prominent politician, served as foreign minister for more than two decades.
Mr. Abe followed his grandfather and father’s footsteps and began his political career when he was only 29. He rose fast politically and became the youngest prime minister in Japan at the age of 52 but with abrupt end of the first term (2006-2007) within one year. He returned as a second term prime minister (2012-2020) with long tenure and left a legacy including an ambitious domestic reform agenda and a visionary foreign policy.
Mr. Abe’s economic reform plan, known as “Abenomics”, included super-easy monetary policy and increased government spending. While it had pulled Japan from a declining economy, it failed to move the economy into a sustainable recovery as many changes are still ahead.
Mr. Abe had long aspired to revise the pacifist Constitution which was aligned with his grandfather’s hope and dream. The pacifist constitution, imposed by the occupying United States in the post-World War II period, outlaws war to settle international disputes involving the state and does not allow maintaining armed forces with war potential. His ambition to establish a strong military force had never wavered since his first term as prime minister.
In 2015, he led the effort to pass a series of security bills by allowing Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to fight abroad for its allies. He also established national security council and helped to augment Japan’s defense budget. Japan’s increasingly assertive military role greatly concerned and angered neighboring countries China, South Korea, and North Korea, which were invaded by Japan in 20th century and have deep distrust toward Japan.
Although Mr. Abe was not able to accomplish his long-held ambition to amend the Constitution during his tenure and could not witness it during his lifetime, the Current prime minister Fumio Kishida is working hard to achieve that dream. Two days after he was gunned down, the Liberal Democratic Party and its allies gained enough seats to form a supermajority, which gave them a chance to amend the country’s pacifist Constitution.
Abe’s foreign policy is influential but not without controversy. He was a loyal and uncompromising ally of the United States. He also played an important role in establishing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, including the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, to counter rapid rise and expansion of China’s regional influence. The dialogue is still actively working on the “free and open Indo-pacific peace strategy” called by Mr. Abe.
Mr. Abe is survived by his wife, Akie Abe; his mother, Yoko Abe; and his brothers: Nobuo Kishi, Japan’s current defense minister, and Hironobu Abe, who retired.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/world/asia/shinzo-abe-dead.html
https://time.com/6195116/shinzo-abe-legacy-japan-world/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinzo_Abe#Early_life_and_education
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_9_of_the_Japanese_Constitution#:~:text=Article%209%20of%20the%20Japanese%20Constitution%20(%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%9B%BD%E6%86%B2%E6%B3%95%E7%AC%AC,1947%2C%20following%20World%20War%20II.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/world/asia/japan-election-abe.html
Mr. Abe came from a political dynasty with nationalist views. His maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, class-A war criminal suspect in World War II (WWII), established the liberty democratic party in 1955, which later becomes the most powerful party in Japan, and led the country as Japanese prime minister during 1957 to 1960. His father, Shintaro Abe, a prominent politician, served as foreign minister for more than two decades.
Mr. Abe followed his grandfather and father’s footsteps and began his political career when he was only 29. He rose fast politically and became the youngest prime minister in Japan at the age of 52 but with abrupt end of the first term (2006-2007) within one year. He returned as a second term prime minister (2012-2020) with long tenure and left a legacy including an ambitious domestic reform agenda and a visionary foreign policy.
Mr. Abe’s economic reform plan, known as “Abenomics”, included super-easy monetary policy and increased government spending. While it had pulled Japan from a declining economy, it failed to move the economy into a sustainable recovery as many changes are still ahead.
Mr. Abe had long aspired to revise the pacifist Constitution which was aligned with his grandfather’s hope and dream. The pacifist constitution, imposed by the occupying United States in the post-World War II period, outlaws war to settle international disputes involving the state and does not allow maintaining armed forces with war potential. His ambition to establish a strong military force had never wavered since his first term as prime minister.
In 2015, he led the effort to pass a series of security bills by allowing Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to fight abroad for its allies. He also established national security council and helped to augment Japan’s defense budget. Japan’s increasingly assertive military role greatly concerned and angered neighboring countries China, South Korea, and North Korea, which were invaded by Japan in 20th century and have deep distrust toward Japan.
Although Mr. Abe was not able to accomplish his long-held ambition to amend the Constitution during his tenure and could not witness it during his lifetime, the Current prime minister Fumio Kishida is working hard to achieve that dream. Two days after he was gunned down, the Liberal Democratic Party and its allies gained enough seats to form a supermajority, which gave them a chance to amend the country’s pacifist Constitution.
Abe’s foreign policy is influential but not without controversy. He was a loyal and uncompromising ally of the United States. He also played an important role in establishing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, including the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia, to counter rapid rise and expansion of China’s regional influence. The dialogue is still actively working on the “free and open Indo-pacific peace strategy” called by Mr. Abe.
Mr. Abe is survived by his wife, Akie Abe; his mother, Yoko Abe; and his brothers: Nobuo Kishi, Japan’s current defense minister, and Hironobu Abe, who retired.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/world/asia/shinzo-abe-dead.html
https://time.com/6195116/shinzo-abe-legacy-japan-world/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinzo_Abe#Early_life_and_education
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_9_of_the_Japanese_Constitution#:~:text=Article%209%20of%20the%20Japanese%20Constitution%20(%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%9B%BD%E6%86%B2%E6%B3%95%E7%AC%AC,1947%2C%20following%20World%20War%20II.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/world/asia/japan-election-abe.html
