Shinzo Abe was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. He was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history, serving for almost nine years in total. Abe also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2006 under Junichiro Koizumi and was briefly the opposition leader in 2012.

Abe was born into a prominent political family in Tokyo and was the grandson of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. After graduating from Seikei University and briefly attending the University of Southern California, Abe was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1993 election. Abe was appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary by Prime Minister Koizumi in 2005 before replacing him as prime minister and LDP president the following year. Confirmed by the National Diet, Abe became Japan's youngest post-war prime minister and the first born after World War II. Abe resigned as prime minister after one year due to ulcerative colitis and his party's recent election losses. After recovering, Abe staged an unexpected political comeback by defeating Shigeru Ishiba, the former defense minister, to become LDP president in 2012. Following the LDP's landslide victory in that year's general election, Abe became the first former prime minister to return to the office since Shigeru Yoshida in 1948. He led the LDP to further victories in the 2014 and 2017 elections, becoming Japan's longest-serving prime minister. In 2020, Abe again resigned as prime minister, citing a relapse of his colitis, and was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga.

Abe was a staunch conservative whom political commentators had described as a right-wing Japanese nationalist. Associated with the Nippon Kaigi, he held negationist views on Japanese history, including denying the role of government coercion in the recruitment of comfort women during World War II, a position which caused tensions particularly with South Korea. Under his premiership, relations further strained in 2019 over disputes about reparations. Earlier that same year, Abe's government initiated a trade dispute with South Korea after the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that reparations be made by Japanese companies who had benefited from forced labor. Abe was considered a hard-liner with respect to Japan's military policies. In 2007, he initiated the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue during his first tenure as prime minister, aimed at resisting China's rise as a superpower. He advocated reforming the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) by revising Article 9 of the Japanese constitution that outlawed declarations of war. He enacted military reforms in 2015 that allowed Japan to exercise collective security by allowing JSDF deployments overseas, the passage of which was controversial and met with protests. Economically, Abe attempted to counter Japan's economic stagnation with "Abenomics", with mixed results. Abe was also credited with reinstating the Trans-Pacific Partnership with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Abe was assassinated on 8 July 2022 while delivering a campaign speech in Nara two days before the 10 July upper house elections. The suspect, who was immediately arrested by police, confessed to targeting the former prime minister because of Abe's ties with the Unification Church. Abe's assassination was the first assassination of a former Japanese prime minister since 1936. A polarizing figure in Japanese politics, Abe was described by his supporters as having worked to strengthen Japan's security and international stature, while his opponents described his nationalistic policies and negationist views on history as threatening Japanese pacifism and damaging relations with East Asian neighbors China and South Korea. Commentators have said that his legacy pushed Japan towards more proactive military spending, security, and economic policies.

Member of the House of Representatives

Abe was elected to the first district of Yamaguchi Prefecture [ja] in 1993 after his father's 1991 death, winning the most votes of the four Representatives elected in the SNTV multi-member district. In 1999, he became Director of the Social Affairs Division. He was Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary in the Yoshirō Mori and Junichiro Koizumi Cabinets from 2000 to 2003, after which he was appointed Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Abe was a member of the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai, a faction in the Liberal Democratic Party.[20] This faction is headed by former prime minister Yoshirō Mori. Junichiro Koizumi was a member of the Mori Faction, but left it, as is the custom when accepting a high party post. From 1986 to 1991, Abe's father, Shintaro, headed the same faction.

In 2000, Abe's home and the office of his supporters in Shimonoseki, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, were attacked with Molotov cocktails on numerous occasions. The perpetrators were several Yakuza members belonging to the Kudo-kai, a Kitakyushu-based designated boryokudan syndicate. The reason for the attacks was believed to be that Abe's local aide refused to give cash to a Shimonoseki real estate broker in return for supporting a Shimonoseki mayoral candidate in 1999.

Abe was the chief negotiator for the Japanese government on behalf of the families of Japanese abductees taken to North Korea. As a part of the effort, he accompanied Koizumi to meet Kim Jong‑il in 2002. He gained national popularity when he demanded that Japanese abductees visiting Japan remain in the country, in defiance of North Korea.

He was the leader of a project team within the LDP that conducted a survey on "excessive sexual education and gender-free education". Among the items to which this team raised objections were anatomical dolls and other curricular materials "not taking into consideration the age of children", school policies banning traditional boys' and girls' festivals, and mixed-gender physical education. The team sought to provide a contrast to the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), which it alleged supported such policies.

On 23 April 2006, Abe was elected as the president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. His chief competitors for the position were Sadakazu Tanigaki and Tarō Asō. Yasuo Fukuda was a leading early contender but ultimately chose not to run. Former prime minister Yoshirō Mori, to whose faction both Abe and Fukuda belonged, stated that the faction strongly leant toward Abe.

Terms of Prime Minister

First term as Prime Minister(2006-2007)

1: Inauguration and cabinet

On 26 September 2006, Abe was inaugurated as Japanese prime minister. Elected at age 52, he was the youngest prime minister since Fumimaro Konoe in 1941. He was also the first prime minister born after World War II. Abe's first cabinet was announced on 26 September 2006. The only minister retained in his position from the previous Koizumi cabinet was Foreign Minister Tarō Asō, who had been one of Abe's competitors for the LDP presidency. In addition to the cabinet positions existing under Koizumi, Abe created five new "advisor" positions. He reshuffled his cabinet on 27 August 2007. Commentators noted that these changes seemed to effort by Abe to organize the Prime Minister's office into something more akin to the White House.

The New York Times noted that his cabinet appeared to place a larger emphasis on foreign policy and national security instead of domestic concerns like economic policy. It also speculated that Abe's primary goal may have been to revise the pacifist constitution.

2: Domestic Policy

Abe expressed a general commitment to the reforms instituted by his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. He took some steps toward balancing the Japanese budget, such as appointing a tax policy expert, Kōji Omi, as Minister of Finance. Omi previously supported increases in the national consumption tax, although Abe distanced himself from this policy and sought to achieve much of his budget-balancing through spending cuts.

Since 1997, as the bureau chief of the "Institute of Junior Assembly Members Who Think About the Outlook of Japan and History Education", Abe supported the controversial Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform and the New History Textbook. In March 2007, Abe, along with right-wing politicians, proposed a bill to encourage nationalism and a "love for one's country and hometown" among the Japanese youth (specific wording from the revised “Fundamental Law of Education” which was revised to include "love of country").

In March 2007, Abe stated that there was no evidence that the Japanese military had forced women into sexual slavery during World War II, which the Japanese government had admitted and apologized for in the 1992 Kono Statement. Responding to a potential motion by the US Congress encouraging Japan to acknowledge the atrocity, Abe stated that the Japanese government would not apologize again.

Abe held conservative views in the Japanese succession controversy, and shortly after the birth of Prince Hisahito of Akishino he abandoned a proposed legislative amendment to permit women to inherit the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Second term of Prime Minister (2012-2014)

On 26 December 2012, Abe was formally elected as prime minister by the Diet, with the support of 328 out of 480 members of the House of Representatives. He and his second cabinet, which he called a "crisis-busting cabinet", were sworn in later that day. The new government included LDP heavyweights such as former prime minister Tarō Asō as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Yoshihide Suga as Chief Cabinet Secretary and Akira Amari as Economy Minister. Following his victory, Abe said, “With the strength of my entire cabinet, I will implement bold monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy that encourages private investment, and with these three policy pillars, achieve results.”

In February 2013 Abe gave an address at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., in which he explained his economic and diplomatic objectives, and that he had returned to the prime ministership to prevent Japan becoming a "Tier Two Nation", declaring that "Japan is back".

1: Economic Policy

The Second Abe cabinet revived the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) that had played a key role in formulating economic policy during the Koizumi cabinet, but had been abandoned by the 2009–2012 DPJ administrations.

Abe declared in his January 2013 policy speech to the Diet that economic revival and escaping deflation was "the greatest and urgent issue" facing Japan. His economic strategy, referred to as Abenomics, consisted of the so-called "three arrows" (an allusion to an old Japanese story) of policy. The first arrow was monetary expansion aimed at achieving a 2% inflation target, the second a flexible fiscal policy to act as an economic stimulus in the short term, then achieve a budget surplus, and the third a growth strategy focusing on structural reform and private sector investment to achieve long-term growth.

In 2019, it was reported that 40% of key economic statistics collected from 2005 to 2017 contained errors, casting doubt on the effectiveness of Abe's economic program and the reliability of Japanese economic statistics. It was discovered that the labor ministry did not follow protocol by only surveying about one-third of all the large Japanese businesses it was supposed to survey. The data was eventually corrected, and it was discovered that the faulty data presented Japanese economic statistics more favorably than the corrected data. The faulty data costed 19.7 million people about 53.7 billion yen in unpaid benefits, and costed the Japanese government 650 million yen to correct the error. Opposition politicians criticized the governments response; one lawmaker called Abe's economic program a fraud, with many journalists labeling the event as a data scandal.

2: Upper House Election

When Abe returned to office, although neither party had controlled the House of Councillors (the upper house of the Diet) since the 2007 election, the opposition DPJ was the largest party. The governing coalition enjoyed a two-thirds majority in the lower house, allowing it to override the upper house's veto, but this requires a delay of 90 days. This situation, known as the "Twisted Diet", had contributed to political gridlock and the "revolving door" of prime ministers since 2007. Abe's campaign for the 2013 election focused on themes of economic revival, asking voters to give him a stable mandate in both houses to pursue reforms, and took a more moderate tone on defense and constitutional matters.

In the 2013 upper house election, the LDP emerged as the largest party with 115 seats (a gain of 31) and the Komeito with 20 (a gain of 1), giving Abe's coalition control of both houses of the Diet, but not the two-thirds majority in the upper house that would allow for constitutional revision. With no national elections due until 2016, this result was described as giving Abe the opportunity of "three golden years" of parliamentary stability in which to implement his policies.

3: Cabinet reshuffle

The cabinet inaugurated in December 2012 was the longest-serving and most stable in post-war Japanese history, lasting 617 days without a change in personnel until Abe conducted a reshuffle in September 2014, with the stated aim of promoting more women into ministerial posts. The reshuffled cabinet tied the record of five women ministers set by the first Koizumi cabinet. Most key figures, such as Deputy Prime Minister Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga, were kept in their posts although Abe moved Justice Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki out of the cabinet to become Secretary-General of the LDP.[166] However, on 20 October two of the women promoted in the reshuffle, Justice Minister Midori Matsushima and Trade Minister Yūko Obuchi, were forced to resign in separate election finance scandals. Abe told the press, “As prime minister, I bear full responsibility for having appointed them, and I apologize deeply to the people of Japan.”

Third Term as Prime Minister (2014-2017)

On 24 December 2014 Abe was re-elected to the position of Prime Minister by the House of Representatives. The only change he made when introducing his third cabinet was replacing defense minister Akinori Eto, who was also involved in a political funding controversy, with Gen Nakatani. In his February policy speech, as the Cabinet weathered a Moritomo Gakuen school scandal, Abe called upon the new Diet to enact "most drastic reforms since the end of World War II" in the sectors of the economy, agriculture, healthcare and others.

On a tour of the Middle East in January 2015, Abe announced that Japan would provide 200 million dollars in non-military assistance to countries fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as part of a 2.5-billion-dollar aid package. Shortly after this, ISIL released a video in which a masked figure (identified as Mohammed Emwazi or "Jihadi John") threatened to kill two Japanese hostages, Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa, in retaliation for the move unless Abe's government paid 200 million dollars of ransom money. Abe cut short his trip to deal with the crisis, declared that such acts of terrorism were "unforgivable" and promised to save the hostages while refusing to pay the ransom. The Abe cabinet worked with the Jordanian government to attempt to secure the release of both hostages, after further videos were released by ISIL linking their fate to that of the pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, with deputy foreign minister Yasuhide Nakayama conducting negotiations in Amman. Both hostages were killed with ISIL releasing news of Yukawa's death on 24 January and Goto's on 31 January. Abe condemned the killings as a "heinous act", declared that Japan would "not give in to terrorism" and pledged to work with the international community to bring the killers to justice. There was some criticism of Abe for his move to pledge aid against ISIL while they were holding Japanese citizens hostage, but polls showed support for his administration increasing in the aftermath of the crisis. He later used the example of the hostage crisis to argue the case for the collective self-defense legislation that his government introduced in the summer of 2015.

1: Foreign Policy

In April 2015, Abe addressed a joint session of the United States Congress, the first Japanese prime minister to do so. In his speech he referred to the Japan–US Alliance as the "Alliance of Hope", promised that Japan would play a more active security and defense role in the alliance and argued that the TPP would bring both economic and security benefits to the Asia-Pacific region. The address served as part of a state visit to the United States, the eighth of the Obama Presidency, which President Obama referred to as a "celebration of the ties of friendship" between America and Japan. During the visit, Abe attended a state dinner at the White House.

Like his predecessors Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi, Abe issued a statement commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on 14 August 2015. This statement had been widely anticipated, with some commentators expecting Abe to amend or even refuse to repeat the previous leaders' apologies for Japan's role in the war. In the statement, Abe committed to upholding the previous apologies and expressed "profound grief and eternal, sincere condolences" for the "immeasurable damage and suffering" Japan had caused for "innocent people" during the conflict. He also argued that Japan should not be "predestined to apologize" forever, noting that more than eighty percent of Japanese people alive today were born after the conflict and played no part in it. The governments of both China and South Korea responded with criticism of the statement, but analysts noted that it was muted and restrained in tone, in comparison to the harsher rhetoric than had been employed previously. A representative of the US National Security Council welcomed the statement and referred to Japan as having been a "model for nations everywhere" in its record on "peace, democracy, and the rule of law" since the war's end. Professor Gerald Curtis of Columbia University argued that the statement "probably satisfies no constituency" either in Japan or abroad, but that by repeating the words "aggression", "colonialism", "apology" and "remorse" used in the Murayama Statement of 1995, it was likely to be enough to improve relations with China and Korea.

2: Constitutional Revision

At the 2016 election to the House of Councillors, the first that allowed Japanese citizens 18 and over to vote, Abe led the LDP–Komeito pact to victory, with the coalition being the largest in the House of Councillors since it was set at 242 seats. The election's results opened the debate on constitutional reform, particularly in amending Article 9 of Japan's pacifist constitution, with pro-revisionist parties gaining the two-thirds majority being necessary for reform, alongside a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, which would ultimately lead to a nationwide referendum. Abe remained relatively quiet on the issue for the remainder of the year, but in May 2017, announced that the constitutional reform would be in effect by 2020.

Fourth term as Prime Minister (2017-2020)

The 2017 general election was held on 22 October. Prime Minister Abe called the snap election on 25 September, while the North Korea crisis was prominent in the news media. Political opponents of Abe say the snap election was designed to evade questioning in parliament over alleged scandals. Abe was expected to retain a majority of seats in the Diet. Abe's ruling coalition took almost a majority of the vote and two-thirds of the seats. The last-minute campaigning and voting took place as Typhoon Lan, the biggest typhoon of 2017, was wreaking havoc on Japan.

On 20 September 2018, Abe was re-elected as leader of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. On 19 November 2019, Abe became Japan's longest-serving prime minister, surpassing the 2,883-day record of Katsura Tarō. On 24 August 2020, Abe became the longest-serving prime minister in terms of consecutive days in office, surpassing Eisaku Satō's 2,798-day record.

1: Favoritism Scandals

In March 2018, it was revealed that the finance ministry (with finance minister Tarō Asō at its head) had falsified documents presented to the parliament in relation to the Moritomo Gakuen scandal, in order to remove 14 passages implicating Abe. It was suggested that the scandal could cost Abe his seat as Liberal Democratic party's leader. Further accusations arose the same year that Abe had given preferential treatment to his friend Kotarō Kake to open a veterinary department at his school, Kake Gakuen. Abe denied the charges, but support for his administration fell below 30% in the polls, the lowest since his taking power in 2012. Those who called for him to step down included former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. The scandal was referred to by some as "Abegate". Former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi speculated that Abe would likely resign due to the scandal.

The scandals, while not damaging his political standing permanently, did little good for his image. In July 2018, Abe's public standing was further hit after he held a drinking party with LDP lawmakers during the peak of the floods in western Japan. In 2020, Abe came under further criticism for extending the term of top Tokyo prosecutor Hiromu Kurokawa, who later resigned amid a gambling scandal. Abe's approval rating fell from 40% to 27% during the month of May 2020, largely due to his handling of the Kurokawa situation.

2: Economical Policy

In July 2018, Japan became the second country after Mexico to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). CPTPP evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership which never came into force after then US president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in early 2017. Abe's administration was credited with overcoming protectionist pressures within Japan and rallying the 10 other TPP member countries to support CPTPP, which largely kept the previous agreement intact and left the door open to an eventual US return.

3: Retirement

Abe's colitis relapsed in June 2020 and resulted in his health deteriorating through the summer. Following several hospital visits, Abe announced on 28 August 2020 that he intended to retire as prime minister, citing his inability to carry out the duties of the office while seeking treatment for his condition. During the press conference announcing his retirement, Abe indicated that he would remain in office until a successor was chosen by the LDP, but declined to endorse any specific successor. Abe expressed regret at being unable to fully accomplish his policy goals due to his early retirement. Yoshihide Suga was elected as his successor by the LDP on 14 September 2020 and took office as prime minister on 16 September.

Legacy

Abe was often referred to as the "shadow shogun" due to his profound influence on Japanese politics during his life. After his assassination, Japanologist Michael Green described Abe as "the most consequential modern Japanese leader" and argued that Japan's future appears to be that of Abe's "vision". Following Abe's assassination, the LDP–Komeito coalition won a majority of the available seats in the upper house in the 10 July election. This gave the government a majority in the upper house. Many, such as Sheila A. Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations and East Asia expert Jeff Kingston, speculated that a revised constitution, especially a revision of its article 9 clause which outlaws war and the maintenance of military forces, may become Abe's main legacy. Abe is also credited with engineering the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and salvaging the deal as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), after the US withdrew from the TPP in 2017.

A Washington Post analysis described Abe as the "preeminent statesman of the Indo-Pacific" whose realist approach helped build a cooperative security network in East Asia. Columnist Josh Rogin wrote that Abe's lasting legacy was a world better prepared to confront an increasingly assertive China. Similarly, US Admiral James Stavridis wrote that Abe's greatest contribution was a strengthened Japanese military. His death solicited tributes and condolences from many states and leaders, a testament to his commitment to international relations. Consultant Bill Emmott noted that thanks to Abe's diplomacy, he was more popular abroad than domestically, bearing similarities to Margaret Thatcher. Economist Matthew P. Goodman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) wrote that Abe's legacy was that of a "Champion of the Global Economic Order", whose administration launched the "Partnership for Quality Infrastructure" infrastructure project in Asia, proposed an internationally endorsed organizing principle for global data governance, kickstarted the TPP, and later salvaged it with the CPTPP. Indian commentator Harshil Mehta called Abe a "Unifier of Oceans" in his obituary due to formation of the Quad and wrote that he "stayed committed to the common cause" of Japan and India.

Conversely, Abe's nationalism and historical denialism strained long-term relations with the neighboring PRC and South Korea. Abe's complex legacy was displayed in both nations following his assassination, where some praised Abe's efforts to improve relations and others denounced his views on Japanese history with its neighbors. In addition, journalist Jake Adelstein argued that Abe left a legacy vexed by authoritarianism, with his actions throughout his tenure such as the intimidation of media that were critical of him leading to Japan's fall on the Press Freedom Index to as low as 72nd, stoking anti-Korean sentiments, as well as the creation of a "Cabinet Personnel Bureau" to vet bureaucratic positions of anyone that may be openly critical of the government, among others.

In Japan, Abe remains controversial and is described as the "most polarizing" figure in contemporary Japanese politics. Domestic divisiveness created by his historical negationist efforts is long-lasting. Abe also had a profound and lasting effect on the Japanese economy through Abenomics, leaving behind a mixed economic record.

Honors, Awards and International Recognition

Domestic Honors

Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum:

1: Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, 8 July 2022.
2: Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, 8 July 2022 .
3: Junior First Rank, 8 July 2022 .

1: Member Special Class of the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud, April 2007 (Saudi Arabia)
2: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (Greece)
3: Member 1st Class of the Order of Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, August 2013 (Bahrain)
4: Grand Cross of the Order of Ivory Merit, January 2014 (Ivory Coast)
5: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau, October 2014 (Netherlands)
6: Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Raja 3 June 2015 (Philippines)
7: Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín, 2016 (Argentina)
8: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, 2017 (Spain)
9: Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown, 2017 (Luxembourg)
10: Grand Officer of the medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, 2018 (Uruguay) 

11: Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit, 2018 (Paraguay)
12: Gold Olympic Order, 2020. (IOC)
13: Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit, 2020 (United States) – For his leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security.
14: Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross, 2020 (Brazil)
15: Padma Vibhushan, January 2021 (India)
16: Member 2nd Class of the Order of the Republic of Serbia, June 2022 (Serbia)[414][415 Honorary Companion of the Order of  Australia, 31 August 2022 (posthumous) (Australia) – For eminent service to the Australia-Japan bilateral relationship.
17: Special Grand Cordon of the Order of Propitious Clouds , 26 January 2023 (posthumous) (Republic of China)2013 Foreign Policy Top 100 Global Thinkers, 2013. (United States)

Awards

1: Herman Kahn Award, September 2013. (United States)
2: The Straits Times Asian of the Year award, December 2013. (Singapore)
3: Time 100 in 2014, April 2014. (United States)
4: Time 100 in 2018, 2018. (United States)
5: Boston Global Forum's World Leader in Cybersecurity Award, December 2015. (United States)
6:  World Statesman Award, March 2021. (United States)
7: Keizaikai Award, January 2021. (Japan)
8: Netaji Award 2022 by Netaji Research Bureau, January 2022. (India)

Honorary doctorates

1: Rangsit University, March 2013. (Thailand)
2: Jawaharlal Nehru University, December 2015. (India)
3: Turkmen State University, October 2015 .(Turkmenistan)
4: International Islamic University Malaysia, March 2022. (Malaysia)