On July 8th, Japanese former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe was shot and killed. The shooting occurred in the city of Nara, during a campaign speech for Liberal Democrat representative Kei Sato. Abe was the first former prime minister to have been killed since the infamous 2/26 Incident of 1936. The suspected assassin’s name is Tetsuya Yamagami, a Japanese naval veteran who is said to have made his own gun for the killing. In a country that has one of the lowest murder rates in the world, the incident has been a massive shock.

Thankfully, Japan still hangs murderers.

Upon hearing the news that Abe was shot, former President Donald Trump had to say, “Absolutely devastating news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, a truly great man and leader, has been shot, and is in very serious condition.” He continued, “He was a true friend of mine and, much more importantly, America.”

Donald Trump visited with Shinzo Abe more than any other world leader, so I am not surprised to hear about his apparent devastation at the news. Shinzo Abe held two administrations, from 2006-2007 and then again from 2012-2020. During the second term, the Trump and Abe administrations pushed to increase cooperation toward the goal of peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Prime Minister Abe was not without controversies. Among his most internationally visible issues would have been his visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. The Yasukuni Jinja is a Shinto shrine dedicated to those who have died in service to the Emperor. The visits drew the ire of the governments of South Korea and China, who claim that the shrine is the resting place of war criminals and romanticizes Japanese aggression. However, in the minds of Japanese conservatives, such tributes to Japan’s war dead are the outward expressions of patriotism and a love of country.

The other great controversy of Abe’s second administration was the passing of a law that would allow the government of Japan to amend Article 9 of the constitution in order to allow for the deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces without Japan itself needing to be attacked. The law’s passage caused massive controversy in Japan, where large swaths of the population have made military pacifism a part of their identity. Most infamous was the footage of Japanese Diet members climbing over each other to steal the physical bill during its passage.

Traditionally, Japanese negotiations are already done by the time that a meeting has occurred and the actual meeting is viewed as a mere formality. Thus, seeing the usually orderly and amicable Japanese fighting each other so passionately in this matter shows just how high the emotions were running. Nevertheless, getting the ball rolling to move Japan to increasing its defensive capabilities, can be seen as a fulfillment of one of his longtime political goals.

Foremost among the former prime minister’s accomplishments was the implementation of “Abenomics.” The goals were to make Japanese companies more competitive internationally and to increase Japan’s labor force and birth rates. While it will still take some time to come to a final conclusion on the success of Abenomics, Japan, as of 2021, managed to keep inflation low and in 2017 the country’s GDP grew for the first time in 30 years.

As a part of Japanese economic vitalization, his administration brought the 2020 Olympic Games to Japan as well as the 2026 Asian Games. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic caused issues and heavily divided the nation as to whether or not the Olympics were even worth holding. Like many things in his career, the highs definitely came with lows.

Shinzo Abe was also a passionate leader in the call for the return of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North Korean government, a phenomenon long denied by the North Koreans. This can be argued to have been the issue that enabled his career to really take off, since he was made the head of the negotiations in 2005.

During a time when America’s friendship was being taken for granted or treated with suspicion, Abe oversaw increasing alignment of defensive goals and increased his country’s ability to assist its ally. Of particular concern to Abe was keeping the Indo-Pacific region free from the increasing influence of the Chinese Communist Party. Under Abe’s rule, Japan became one of America’s largest contributors in manufacturing, research and development, and employment with Toyota alone contributing billions in investment and creating hundreds, if not thousands, of American jobs.

The full impact of a man’s life can be a difficult thing to summarize, especially since human beings tend to remember the bad much more readily than the good. However, in my estimation, the former prime minister saw his country through difficult and trying times with a passion and a love of his nation not seen in many world leaders today. With the loss of Shinzo Abe, not only have the Japanese lost a much loved if controversial leader, but America has lost a dear friend.

安らかにお眠りください. (Rest in peace.)

Breason Jacak is a pen name.

Image: CSIS.Org