Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe died after being shot during a campaign speech on Friday in Nara. It was 67. Abe served two separate terms as Japan’s leader of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) — first from 2006 to 2007, then again from 2012 to 2020. His second term was the longest consecutive term for a leader Japanese government. He came from a family of Japanese prime ministers: Abe was born on September 21, 1954, in Tokyo, into a prominent political family. Both his grandfather and great uncle served as prime minister, and his father was a former secretary-general of the LDP. Abe was first elected to Japan’s House of Representatives in 1993, at the age of 38. He held several cabinet positions during the 2000s and in 2003 became the LDP secretary general. Four years later, he was appointed party chairman and became Japan’s prime minister. His first term was marred by controversy and failing health, and he stepped down as party leader and prime minister in 2007. The end of Abe’s first term opened a revolving door in which five different men held the prime ministership in five years until his re-election – in 2012. He resigned in 2020 citing ill health. He continued to be an influential leader after leaving office: After leaving office, Abe remained the head of the largest faction of the ruling LDP and remained influential within the party. He has continued to campaign for a stronger security policy and last year angered China by calling for a greater commitment from allies to defend democracy in Taiwan. In response, Beijing summoned Japan’s ambassador and accused Abe of openly challenging China’s sovereignty. Abe redefined Japan’s diplomatic and military policy: Abe will be remembered for boosting defense spending and promoting the most dramatic change in Japanese military policy in 70 years. In 2015, his government approved a reinterpretation of Japan’s postwar, pacifist constitution, allowing Japanese troops to participate in overseas combat – with conditions – for the first time since World War II. Abe argued that the change was necessary to respond to a more demanding security environment, a nod to a more assertive China and frequent missile tests by North Korea. During his tenure, Abe has sought to improve relations with Beijing and had a historic phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2018. At the same time, he has sought to counter Chinese expansion in the region by uniting Pacific allies. He tried to build a personal relationship with the former president of the United States, Donald Trump. As Washington’s relationship with Pyongyang headed toward diplomacy, with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in holding historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Abe said he was “determined” to meet Kim Abe wanted to normalize relations with North Korea and ease tensions on the Korean peninsula, but his first priority was to bring some closure to the families of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 80s. During his tenure, Japan’s relations with South Korea deteriorated. The two countries had been embroiled in a long-running dispute in which trade and military intelligence agreements were scrapped, partly because of the legacy of World War II and Japan’s brutal colonization of the Korean Peninsula. “Abenomics”: Abe took office at a time of economic turmoil and soon began restarting Japan’s economy after decades of stagnation. Immediately after his re-election to the prime ministership in 2012, he launched a grand experiment popularly known as ‘Abenomics’. It included three so-called arrows — massive monetary stimulus, increased government spending and structural reforms. After a strong start, it faltered, and in 2015, Abe fired “three new arrows” designed to boost gross domestic product. Any hopes that they could finally hit their stride were dashed when Covid-19 swept through the country in 2020, sending Japan into recession. One of Abe’s major domestic achievements was securing the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. But the success of the long-awaited Tokyo Games was ultimately undone by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the competition to be postponed to 2021. Abe declared a state of emergency months after the first cases were detected. His administration has also been criticized for a low rate of testing and an early shortage of specialized medical equipment to treat the growing number of patients. More successful was Abe’s handling of the abdication of Emperor Akihito, the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in two centuries. He was succeeded by his son, Emperor Naruhito, in October 2019, ushering in the Reiwa era. Abe is survived by his wife Akie Abe, née Matsuzaki, whom he married in 1987. The couple had no children. Read more about his legacy here and see his life in photos here.
