Assassination attempt on Shinzo Abe – He was the architect of the new Japan

Tokyo Shinzo Abe didn’t stand a chance. The man who has reigned longer than any other Japanese prime minister with almost nine years in power fought for votes in the central Japanese city of Nara on Friday. Suddenly, Tetsuya Yamagami, a former Marine, jumped out of the crowd into the street, pulled out a homemade double-barrelled shotgun and pulled the trigger twice.

The national conservative politician collapsed, hit in the back and neck. He was quickly flown to a nearby clinic, but at 5:03 p.m. Japanese time, the doctors gave up their fight for his life. Abe was 67 years old and is survived by his wife Akie.

Since then the nation has been in shock. Shootings are extremely rare in Japan thanks to strict gun laws. The collective horror is all the greater, with probably far-reaching consequences for the third largest economy in the world. Because his death will leave a big gap, the former head of government was too important to this day.

Even Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has been in office since autumn 2021, regularly met his predecessor. Abe was the most important figure of the LDP’s strong national-conservative camp. This trend has set itself the goal of reforming the country according to its own values ​​by revising the constitution. Kishida could not rule against him.

Top jobs of the day

Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.

Robert Ward, Japan expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, sees the reason for Abe’s influence above all in the period between 2012 and 2020: “The transformative importance of Abe’s second term in office cannot be overestimated, both for Japan and for the region .” The politician laid the foundation for today’s Japan, both in terms of security policy and the economy.

horror after the attack

He was literally born with a conservative sense of mission. His grandfather was former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, who pushed through the military alliance with the United States after defeat in World War II. Abe followed his lead into politics, becoming Japan’s youngest prime minister in 2006 at the age of 52.

He quickly tried to push through his idea of ​​patriotic education and a reform of the pacifist constitution. Too quickly, as it turned out: After only one year in office, he resigned in 2007 – officially for health reasons. But the party also turned against him because his popularity was rapidly declining. For many Japanese, Abe was simply too radical.

But in 2012 he surprisingly celebrated a furious comeback. He put his focus on economics and formulated his “Abenomics”. After 20 years of deflation and stagnation, he wanted to put Japan on a growth path with “three pillars”: with a glut of money triggered by aggressive bond purchases, high government spending on credit and structural reforms.

The voters bought Abenomics from him and the LDP for a long time, even if the successes of this policy remained mixed. Japan’s debt has now risen to almost 270 percent of gross domestic product, the economy is faltering again and wages continue to stagnate, although Abe had called for significant wage increases.

He also made no progress on his supposedly historic mission, constitutional reform. His rapprochement with Russia failed and relations with neighboring South Korea became increasingly chilly. In addition, his last year in office was overshadowed by scandals that eroded his popularity and led to his resignation.

But Abe’s legacy lives on in domestic and security policy. Today, Japan is a player against Chinese supremacy in Asia. Early on, he pointed to the growing threat posed by China and championed the concept of a free and open Indo-Pacific, which has now become commonplace in Western politics.

After the US withdrawal in 2017, Abe even saved the TTP transpacific partnership agreement, the free trade area created to counterbalance China. At the same time, he strengthened relations with Australia and India, which have now been raised to a new level in the four-way forum “Quad” with the USA.

Scene immediately after the attack

The suspected assassin drops a gun before being restrained by a security guard.

(Photo: dpa)

It is also thanks to Abe that Japan is now confidently committed to the rules-based order – nationally and internationally. It was Abe who expanded the operational powers for the self-defense forces, which were limited to national defense.

He also strengthened the Prime Minister’s power, which had been weak until then, in order to be able to “govern through” – and to weaken critical reporters. As a result, Japan has fallen from 11th to 71st in Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom rankings since 2010.

Even after his resignation as prime minister, he wanted to move the world: he demanded that Japan, alongside the United States, should provide military support to Taiwan against an invasion of China. And he brought up the issue of stationing US nuclear weapons, previously a taboo in the country that had itself been the victim of two American nuclear bomb attacks.

Domestically, Abe may have posthumous success. However, political commentator Tahara Soichirō said the LDP is now likely to gain seats in Sunday’s upper house election. That could spur Abe’s former mission to push for a constitutional revision.

More: Assassination attempt on ex-Prime Minister Abe: How his death could affect Japan

source site-11