The Decease of Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and its Implications for Peace in Northeast Asia
Lee Myon Woo
Vice President,
The Sejong Institute
(mwlee@sejong.org)
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot to death on July 8 during a campaign event. His decease at a relatively young age of 67 saddens many as the the longest-serving former prime minister in modern Japanese history, with a total of 3,188 days served over four cabinets, would easily be considered a politician still in his prime. The conservative or right-wing moves made during his administration and their respective effects on peace and stability in Northeast Asia may not have generated positive reception, especially in the Republic of Korea, but can be viewed as endeavors to safeguard national interest and security for the Japanese people. Through this piece, I wish to look back on Mr. Abe’s footsteps and legacy and touch upon the possibilities that his leadership could have opened for Korea-Japan relations and peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
Mr. Abe began his political career in 1982 by working as executive assistant to his father, Shintaro Abe, who served as foreign minister at the time. After his father passed away in 1991 due to illness, Mr. Abe inherited his father’s local constituency and won a parliamentary seat in the fortieth general election in 1993. The ensuing path, however, was not a smooth one despite his prominent political lineage: his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi served as prime minister from 1957 to 1960, and his great-uncle Eisaku Sato from 1964 to 1972, both of whom had been the powerful faction leaders of their own. Mr. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) suffered a severe loss in the 1993 general election that brought a temporary end to its 38-year rule, and thus he was actively involved in the establishment of the subsequent coalition government and the Murayama cabinet. His relations with former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi won Mr. Abe the seat of LDP secretary-general at a young age, and later LDP president and Japanese prime minister in 2006. However, he had to step down shortly after a critical defeat in the 2007 Japanese upper house election following a series of political scandals.
The 2007 election results possibly marked the beginning of the other fall of the LDP as ruling party and thus not many expected to see Mr. Abe re-elected to LDP president in the 2012 election, let alone his record-setting political career path ahead. Mr. Abe’s solid willpower to overcome defeats and trials, along with his leadership style which fused both by-the-book standards and camaraderie, topped any advantege he held as a result of his prominent backgrond. Insights into such leadership features may be gleaned from the successful reenlistment of former LDP members who had left the paty during the privatization debate of Japan Post Service under the Koizumi Cabinet.
Three major inclinations can be identified with regards to Mr. Abe’s political achievements, of which the first is a devotedly patriotic or nationalist inclination: both his political biography ‘Towards a Beautiful Country: My Vision for Japan’ published in 2006 and the televised address in 2015 marking 70 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II effectively portray a personality resembling the protagonists in ‘Clouds Above the Hill’ by Shiba Ryotaro, deeply affactionate and proud of his country and its successful modern history. One of the most conspicuous examples among his political agenda would be the education reform carried out under his administration, which may be attributed not only to the experience of having witnessed the 1960 security struggle under his grandfather’s cabinet but also the pride in a developing country held by a post-war Japanese born in 1954. His efforts to reform the Peace Constitution and to introduce the security-related laws, along with his firm stance in dealing with Japanese citizen abductions by North Korea, are further examples of Mr. Abe’s patriotic inclination as part of the post-war generation.
The second inclination relates to Mr. Abe’s realistic and pragmatic approach, particularly evident in his dealings with increased threats from nearby countries. A classic example of such inclination can be found in his drive for revoking the Kono statement during the 2012 LDP presidential race, but only to be reversed after election because of the pressures from the U.S. as well as the R.O.K. His approach to China would be another example. Elevated threats from China, epitomized by continued dispute over the Senkaku Islands, have been addressed by efforts to introduce the security-related laws, but also by efforts to enhance the diplomatic relations via summits with Chinese presidents Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping under his first and second cabinets, respectively.
The third inclination encompasses neoliberalism, pluralism, and an advocacy of modern values, all of which may be gleaned from the examples fo Mr. Abe’s drive for overhaul without limits during the Koizumi cabinet and his general stance to maintain a view of open regionalism toward East Asia and the rest of the world. The Asian Gateway Initiative proposed during his first cabinet and the promotion of value-oriented diplomacy during the second tenure are further examples of said inclination. Mr. Abe’s neoliberal and pluralistic tendencies as part of the post-war generation may be considered to have contrived toward overcoming the limits of nationalism, as did his pragmatic inclination toward allaying patriotism.
The essence of Mr. Abe’s political achievements may be narrowed down to an actualization of Japan’s post-Cold War foreign policy initiatives or the push for a ‘normal state’ as proposed by Ichiro Ozawa, and thus at a higher level may be considered not just the accomplishments of a single politician but instead the country’s response to the developments in international affairs. Despite the widespread criticism in the Republic of Korea toward Mr. Abe’s conservative and right-wing moves, as a neighboring country we may benefit from better understanding his political achievements, given not only the recent escalations in post-Cold War power struggles, as represented by US-China conflicts and the Russian invasion into Ukraine, but also the likely increase in tendency among nations to lean toward nationalist shifts during transition periods such as the current one.
The time is ripe for versatile leadership that encompasses and amalgamates the many aspects of patriotism, nationalism, pragmatism, neoliberalism and pluralism, which also serves as to why the leadership attributes of the former Japanese prime minister may have proved beneficial going forth. Thus I hope for the repose of the deceased and anticipate that the preferable aspects of his leadership style may serve as an opportunity for enhanced Korean-Japanese relations, and further peace and stability n Northeast Asia. It may be in our own interests to recall that the purpose of critical analysis lies in the avoidance of known mistakes and that the praise of noteworthy practices is for the pursuit of a virtuous path.
This is an unofficial translation of the original paper by Jisoo Kim jkim@sejong.org which was written in Korean. All references should be made to the original paper.
※ This article is written based on the author’s personal opinions and does not reflect the views of the Sejong Institute.
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