Shinzo Abe: Difference between revisions

 

After recovering from his illness, Abe staged an unexpected political comeback, defeating former [[Minister of Defense (Japan)|defense minister]] [[Shigeru Ishiba]] in a ballot to become LDP President for the second time in September 2012. Following the LDP's landslide victory in the [[2012 Japanese general election|general election]] that December, he became the first former prime minister to return to the office since [[Shigeru Yoshida]] in 1948. He led the LDP to two further landslides in the [[2014 Japanese general election|2014]] and [[2017 Japanese general election|2017 elections]], becoming Japan's longest-serving prime minister as a result. In August 2020, citing a significant resurgence of his ulcerative colitis, Abe announced that he would retire from politics. He tendered his resignation on 16 September, upon the Diet electing chief cabinet secretary [[Yoshihide Suga]] as his successor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200902/p2g/00m/0na/075000c|title=Suga announces candidacy for race to succeed PM Abe

 

Abe is a [[Political conservative|conservative]] whom political commentators have widely described as a [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[Japanese nationalism|nationalist]].<ref name="Sieg2020Abe"/><ref name="Lucy Alexander">{{cite web|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/asia/article3633051.ece|title=Landslide victory for Shinzo Abe in Japan election|work=The Times|author=Lucy Alexander |date=17 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date= 23 October 2017 |title= Japan election: Shinzo Abe set for record tenure |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19725705 |work= BBC News |access-date= 13 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ohi |first=Akai |date= 20 December 2018 |title=Two Kinds of Conservatives in Japanese Politics and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Tactics to Cope with Them |url=https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/two-kinds-conservatives-in-japanese-politics-and-prime-minister-shinzo-abe%E2%80%99s-tactics |work= East-West Center |access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Justin McCurry">{{cite web|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/japan/120928/shinzo-abe-outspoken-nationalist-takes-reins-at-japa|title=Shinzo Abe, an outspoken nationalist, takes reins at Japan's LDP, risking tensions with China, South Korea|publisher=[[GlobalPost]]|author=Justin McCurry |date=28 September 2012}}</ref> He is a member of ''[[Nippon Kaigi]]'' and holds [[Historical revisionism|revisionist]] views on Japanese history,<ref name="Tea Party Politics in Japan">"[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/opinion/tea-party-politics-in-japan.html Tea Party Politics in Japan]" (New York Times - 2014/09/13)</ref> including denying the role of government coercion in the recruitment of [[Comfort women|comfort women during World War II]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Gov't distances itself from NHK head's 'comfort women' comment |url=https://japantoday.com/category/politics/govt-distances-itself-from-nhk-heads-comfort-women-comment |accessdate=22 July 2018 |work=Japan Today |date=27 January 2014 |language=en}}</ref> a position which has created tension with neighboring [[South Korea]].<ref name="csis.org">{{cite speech |title=Japan is Back |author=Abe, Shinzo |date=22 February 2013 |location=CSIS |url=http://csis.org/event/statesmens-forum-he-shinzo-abe-prime-minister-japan |access-date=29 December 2015 }}</ref><ref name="The Japan Times">{{cite web|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/11/10/national/politics-diplomacy/abe-xi-meeting-likely-monday-sources/#.VoLAE0-REWh|title=Abe meets Xi for first China-Japan summit in more than two years|date=10 November 2014|work=The Japan Times|accessdate=29 December 2015}}</ref> He is considered a [[war hawk|hard-liner]] with respect to [[North Korea]], and advocates revising [[Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution|Article 9 of the pacifist constitution]] to permit Japan to maintain military forces.<ref name="Sieg2020Abe"/><ref name=newshour>[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec06/japan_9-20.html New Japanese Leader Looks to Expand Nation's Military], ''NewsHour'', 20 September 2006.</ref><ref name="Japan upgrades its defence agency">BBC website [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6243499.stm Japan upgrades its defence agency], bbc.co.uk, 9 January 2007.</ref> Abe's prime ministership was known internationally for his government's economic policies, nicknamed ''[[Abenomics]]'', which pursued [[monetary easing]], [[fiscal stimulus]], and [[structural adjustment|structural reforms]].<ref name="ft-def">{{cite web|title=Definition of Abenomics|url=http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=abenomics|publisher=Financial Times Lexicon|accessdate=28 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118081548/http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=abenomics|archive-date=18 November 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Sieg2020Abe">{{cite web | last1=Sieg | first1=Linda | title=Japan's Shinzo Abe sought to revive economy, fulfil conservative agenda | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-politics-abe-newsmaker/japans-shinzo-abe-sought-to-revive-economy-fulfil-conservative-agenda-idUSKBN25O0KM | date=28 August 2020 | work=[[Reuters]] | accessdate=29 August 2020}}</ref>