Shinzo Abe, the former Prime Minister of Japan, whose death was confirmed on July 8 after being shot during a political rally, was the longest-serving government leader in office: 9 years. First elected in 2006, he championed so-called “Abenomics,” a bold reform to pull his country’s economy out of chronic deflation, beefed up the military and pushed for measures to counter China’s growing influence. But the premier also faced several scandals that undermined his popularity.
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving former prime minister, has been assassinated following an unprecedented attack on his country.
Becoming leader of the Government for the first time in 2006, Abe promoted ambitious policies from the economic base to the strengthening of the Army and the search for flexibility to modify the limits of a pacifist Constitution, after pointing out the growing threats from North Korea and China and cite the example of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Abe began his political career as a legislator in the 1990s. At the time, he was seen as a symbol of change and youth, although he also brought the experience of a third-generation politician. He came from a conservative elite family, which included a father who served as foreign minister, Shintaro Abe, and his grandfather, the late prime minister Nobusuke Kishi.
Nearly 16 years ago, Shinzo Abe became prime minister for the first time, Japan’s youngest since World War II. He added 9 years in office, amid resignations due to health problems. His first term of just one year was turbulent, plagued by scandals, discord and ended with an abrupt resignation in 2007.
Five years after his resignation, which he blamed on ulcerative colitis, a debilitating intestinal ailment, Abe returned to power in 2012, pledging to revive a stagnant economy.
‘Abenomics’, the ambitious financial policy of Shinzo Abe
With Japan still reeling from the effects of the 2011 tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster, and a short-lived opposition government lambasted for incompetence, Abe offered seemingly certain help.
He then launched the three-pronged strategy called ‘Abenomics’ to overcome persistent deflation and revive financial growth, through hyper-flexible monetary policy and fiscal spending.
The scheme to revive Japan’s economy, the world’s third-largest but with more than two decades of no growth, involved heavy government spending, massive monetary easing and cutting red tape.
He pushed through controversial consumption tax increases to help fund daycare centers and close gaps in Japan’s overburdened social security system.
The then-premier also sought to boost the country’s declining birthrate by making workplaces friendlier to parents, particularly mothers.
Although there was some progress with the reform, the larger structural problems of the economy remained.
Deflation proved stubborn and the economy was in recession even before the Covid-19 virus hit, in 2020.
But amid a pandemic and with an economy facing major challenges, Abe was also instrumental in the victory that led his country to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, despite being held a year late.
However, he did not attend the great sporting event as leader of the Government, since He resigned in September 2020 due to health problems derived, again, from chronic ulcerative colitis.
Abe dies without fulfilling his great ambition: to revise the “pacifist” Constitution
The former prime minister advocated the need to make changes to a Magna Carta considered “pacifist”, which prohibits the country from using force to resolve international disputes.
Abe backed relaxing the limits of the post-World War II Constitution and restoring conservative values. However, he dies without achieving that goal.
In the weeks before his death, he publicly expressed his support for significant increases in Japan’s defense budget, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as evidence that his nation should remain vigilant in the event of similar action by China in Japan. Taiwan.
Although he defended the position of strengthening the Army and preparing the country for possible conflicts in the region, internally he supported the policy of a nation with “zero tolerance” for gun ownership. An approach that experts say contributes to its extremely low rate of explosive device crime.
That is why the circumstances surrounding his death are unprecedented. “There has never been anything like this,” said Airo Hino, a political science professor at Waseda University, about the shooting in which Abe lost his life, while campaigning in the city of Nara, ahead of the House elections. High, scheduled for next Sunday, July 10.
International relations in the Abe era
On the international stage, Abe took a hard line on North Korea but sought a peacekeeping role between the United States and Iran.
He prioritized a close personal relationship with former President Donald Trump in a bid to protect his nation’s key alliance, despite the then-White House leader’s “America First” policy, and sought to mend ties with Russia and China.
But the results were mixed: Trump remained eager to force Tokyo to pay more for US troops stationed in the country, a deal with Russia over the disputed northern islands remained elusive, and a plan to invite Xi Jinping to a state visit fell by the wayside.
Abe also took a hard line with Seoul over unresolved disputes during the war, as he continued to put forward plans to revise his nation’s “pacifist” constitution.
political storms
Although Abe managed to catapult himself as Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, by the summer of 2020, support had eroded over his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as a series of scandals, including the arrest of his former Minister of Justice.
Throughout his term, he weathered political storms, including accusations of nepotism that dented approval ratings, but did little to affect his power, thanks in part to the weakness of the opposition.
He resigned in September 2020 without achieving his goal of revising the constitution or presiding over the Olympics, which had been postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic.
But he remained a dominant presence over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), controlling one of its main factions. Abe was campaigning for the upper house elections, pursuing, among other things, some of the most ambitious reforms he ever proposed in his political life.
With Reuters, AFP and local media
#Shinzo #Abe #longestserving #Japanese #prime #minister #promoted #ambitious #reforms