More
    35.1 C
    Delhi
    Thursday, March 28, 2024
    More

      Shinzo Abe : Journey of Longest Serving Japanese Prime Minister

      In 1944, Shintaro Abe finish his graduation and join a naval aviation school with the hope of becoming a kamikaze pilot. But before he could complete his training, Japan had lost the war to the US.

      In the next few years, Shintaro Abe pursue law at Tokyo University, tried his hand in journalism, got married to the daughter of a prominent politician, and gradually start walking the corridors of power in Tokyo.

      The coming decades would see Shintaro Abe grow in stature in Japanese politics.

      He work closely with his father-in-law, Nobusuke Kishi, who became Prime Minister of Japan in 1957.

      Shintaro Abe would go on to become Japan’s foreign minister in 1982 and was tip to be the prime minister of Japan at some point in the future.

      But, destiny had other plans.

      Shintaro Abe died in 1991 of heart failure (there were murmurs he had cancer), leaving behind his wife and two sons, Hironobu Abe and Shinzo Abe.

      While Hironobu Abe chose the path to become an entrepreneur, Shinzo Abe carried his father’s legacy forward by joining politics and eventually achieve what his father couldn’t and became Prime Minister of Japan.

      With his maternal grandfather, a former prime minister, and his father a season politician, Shinzo Abe had inherited a strong family lineage in Japanese politics.

      Shinzo Abe was first elected to Parliament in 1993 on his father’s seat, who had pass away a couple of years earlier.

      In 2000, Shinzo Abe became the deputy chief secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party.

      Shinzo Abe travel with the then Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, to North Korea in a bid to negotiate the release of Japanese citizens abducted by Kim Jong Il’s regime.

      ALSO READ  Report says India Has Highest Number of Cryptocurrency Owners in the World at Over 10 Crore

      He holds the record of being the longest-serving Japanese Prime Minister.

      Shinzo Abe serve as Prime Minister of Japan from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.

      He was victorious in six electoral contests since 2012.

      Shinzo Abe will be remember for two key reform agendas which he pursue during his tenure.

      They were:

      • Restoring Japan’s militarism.
      • Reviving the country’s slowing economy through policies that became popular as ‘Aebonomics’.

      A conservative, Shinzo Abe was unapologetic about Japan’s war history and want to revise a pacifist clause in the country’s constitution.

      But his efforts to build a more muscular military were met with opposition from the Japanese population, who hit the streets in 2015.

      They protest the legislation which allow Japanese forces to fight alongside allies in overseas combat missions.

      Shinzo Abe fail to revise Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, impose by the US after World War II, which renoun war and the right to have arm forces.

      But he did achieve a fair deal.

      Shinzo Abe establish Japan’s National Security Council (NSC) in 2013 and also pass the State Secrecy Law in 2014.

      He was also able to increase Japan’s defence budget and acquire F-35 fighter aircraft and Izumo-class helicopter-equipped destroyers.

      Shinzo Abe also led Japan’s recovery from the tragic earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which kill about 20,000 people and led to the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear reactors.

      But Shinzo Abe’s nationalist position often invite international criticism.

      In 2013, Shinzo Abe visit Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine (a site with links to Japan’s war atrocities), causing an uproar in China and South Korea.

      ALSO READ  NPCI Partners With Worldline to Bring UPI and RuPay Services Across Europe | Details Inside

      Abenomics’ became a buzzword under which the Shinzo Abe government unleash a loose monetary policy, fiscal stimulus, and structural economic reforms.

      The aim was to add a spark to the economic engine which had lied stagnant for two decades.

      Beyond reducing corporate taxes, an impetus given to expand an ageing workforce with greater participation of women and immigrants.

      On matters relate to international relations, Shinzo Abe is credit with keeping close ties with Donald Trump, who maintain a hawkish and transactional approach with US allies.

      Shinzo Abe also maintain strong ties with India and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, upgraded the bilateral relationship to ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.

      During Shinzo Abe’s tenure, India and Japan sign the civil nuclear pact in 2016.

      But his biggest contribution is the Quad.

      Shinzo Abe was the first to initiate the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue back in 2007, which brought together Australia, India, Japan, and the US on one platform against the backdrop of a growing Chinese threat.

      Australia withdrew in 2008 and Quad cease to exist, but was revive almost ten years later in 2017.

      Shinzo Abe’s contribution was critical to bringing the four nations together.

      India acknowledge Abe’s contribution to the ties between the two nations with the second-highest civilian honour—Padma Vibhushan in 2021.

      This was about a year after he had resign.

      Shinzo Abe resign as Prime Minister of Japan in September 2020, citing health issues.

      Shinzo Abe’s popularity was believe to be at an all-time low when he hung the boot.

      Japan had enter into a recession and was struggling to battle the Covid pandemic.

      ALSO READ  Freeze-Dried Mice Successfully Cloned by Researchers

      In the last couple of years, Shinzo Abe had continue to play an influential role in Japanese politics until his life was brought to an abrupt end.

      Related Articles

      LEAVE A REPLY

      Please enter your comment!
      Please enter your name here

      Stay Connected

      18,730FansLike
      80FollowersFollow
      718SubscribersSubscribe
      - Advertisement -

      Latest Articles