Column | Shinzo Abe: A martyr to Japan’s modernisation

Japan’s influential and longest serving Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, worked to modernise his country, revitalize its economy and rebuild its image on the global stage.

He fell to the bullets of an assassin, probably belonging to a fringe element in Japan, which felt uneasy about his reform as undermining the traditional values of the country.

Although free of violence and political assassinations, there have been instances in Japan of suicides and killings by people who suspect fundamental changes in the politics and economics of the country.

Although Abe’s reforms had the support of the ruling party, there are at least some people who believe that the various problems that Japan now has were brought about by his administration.

Bloodshed has been absent from Japanese politics for more than six decades since the Liberal Democratic Party, to which Abe belonged, had gained support. In the early 1960s, violent clashes took place between the political left and right over Japan's security treaty with the United States and a socialist party leader was killed.

A consensus later emerged among politicians to keep political battles out of the public view, behind a harmonious facade. By and large, politics in Japan have been based on the principle of nonviolence. Japan has tight gun-control laws, which prevent shooting deaths like in the United States.

Radical reforms upset a few
Abe’s reforms, ranging from having an independent foreign policy, removing the constraints on developing Japan’s military strength, increasing the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes, even after the catastrophe in Fukushima, developing defence cooperation with democracies in the Indo-Pacific, setting up of the Quad with the US, India and Australia have enhanced Japan’s place on the world stage and benefitted the country economically and politically.

But the conservative minority in Japan may have found these changes too radical for their comfort and may have spurred negativity, which may have led to Abe’s assassination.

Controversial military overhaul
Abe’s most controversial move was to revamp the military on the ground that Japan was given an unfair verdict for its past. He resented Japan having to apologise for World War II.

No policy of his was more divisive than his cherished dream to revise Japan’s war-renouncing constitution. His ultra- nationalism also angered Koreas and China, the wartime victims of Japan. For him, the 1947 charter was symbolic of the unfair legacy of Japan’s war defeat and the imposition of the victors’ world order and western values. On his re-election as PM,  one of his first acts was to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, a monument to the dead soldiers, which includes some, who were convicted of war crimes.

He actively pursued a revision of the constitution and got bills passed in the Parliament, but the opposition to the measures persisted and eventually the amendment to the constitution was postponed. He tried, however, even within the framework of the constitution, to strengthen the self-defence force, which works closely with the United States.

What upset peaceniks
Abe’s nuclear policy also was of concern to the peaceniks in Japan, which has been a victim of two nuclear attacks. The civilian reactors in Japan were believed to be a turn of the screw driver away from turning them into weapon making, but it was extremely critical of India for not signing the NPT. But after the signing of the India-US Agreement on Civil Nuclear Cooperation, Japan not only acknowledged India’s new status, but also signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

Mixed results of economic policy
Abe’s economic policy, nicknamed “Abenomics” during his second term, seemed to work initially, with strong growth in 2013, but later there was a dramatic drop in Japan’s economy, followed by a recession. In the election that followed, Abe retained his position as PM, but his popularity plummeted.

Indo-Pacific forays

Abe’s suspicion of China was evident in his efforts to work with the democracies in the Indo-Pacific and his proposal for the Quad. Even before the Quad became a reality, Japan launched military exercises in the region with the US, India and Australia. The Quad remains a lasting legacy after Abe left office on account of ill health in September 2020.

Warm ties to India

Abe’s grandfather, who was Prime Minister and his father, who became Foreign Minister, had good relations with India, but Abe was the architect of the current cordial relations between India and Japan.

He had a special rapport with PM Modi, who had visited Abe even when Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Abe’s visits to India were marked by cordiality and concrete cooperation in many fields. No wonder Modi expressed deep condolences on the demise of a special friend and also declared national mourning for a day in India.

Lax security helped assassin

Abe’s nationalistic ideology and attempts at modernisation of Japan were widely accepted by his party and the public in general. But there are several individuals in Japan, including some in the armed forces, who felt uncomfortable with the speed with which he brought in changes.

Since he wielded considerable influence in the party and his successors, some of them may have conspired to assassinate him. The fact that the security was comparatively lax because he was no more in office, may have also been a factor which led to the tragedy. But there is no question that he will be remembered as a revered martyr to the modernisation of Japan.