He’s the most towering political figure in Japan over the past couple of decades. He wanted Japan to be respected on the global stage in the way that he felt was deserved. ... He also wanted Japan to not have to keep apologizing for World War II.

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Abe - intelligent, elegant, cosmopolitan, well nuanced in international affairs - gave Japan a truly credible, geopolitical & cultural presence .

He did not use his privileged position to profit himself, but worked unreservedly for Japan to be economically strong, politically stable, peace loving nation with a distinct invaluable cultural heritage.

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He’s the most towering political figure in Japan over the past couple of decades.

If you ignore Koizumi.

On a human level the death of Abe is truly tragic.

Equally tragic is the mythologizing that comes with martyrdom of a man who is praised as 'looking to the future'-(while simultaneously trying to rewrite the past). To a certain extent part of Abe's ambition was expressed in the form of grievance politics as to how Japan was perceived in the post-world war order. And while Abe's attempt to alter the Constitution does not seem unreasonable in the face of current geopolitics, when combined with historical revisionism and a sense of somehow being unjustly humiliated, it provides an almost identical recipe for the kinds of justifications used by both Russia and China towards Ukraine and Taiwan respectively.

Should Japan alter article 9 of the Constitution given the current security climate in the region? Probably.

Should this be done in the spirit of 'rekindling the former greatness' of Japan as Abe seemed to espouse? Probably not. If Japan wants to be able to effectively meet the challenges that both Russia and China present, it should not emulate their sense of grievance politics and self-aggrandizement to do so. If Abe had been a little more concerned about the future of Japan, than he was about rehabilitating its past, then he may have been a truly great leader.

@blue,

Bravo,my friend.

You have nailed it.

Sad to see him die,but you have nailed it.

Did you mention the secrecy law that he rammed through the diet as well?

Spoke to Japanese friend and he was very sad,but only because Abe will never have to take responsibility now for all of the scandals he was the centre of.

Also he has made the rich much richer and the poor much poorer.

@blue,

Very insightful.

I imagine so many Japanese are confused about what to think right now.

Especially given their reluctance to actually show their true feelings.

The friend I mentioned in my post is an old guy too.

He really loves Japan in a patriotic way not a nationalistic way.

By the way,absolute kudos to you for your 'stray cat patrol.'

Your comment that I first replied to was awesome.

Many people forget how hawkish he was and what a silver-spooned life he led.

Who can forget the 'Southern All Stars' concert where the singer made a playful jibe at Abe in the audience. Abe was 'ashen and visibly shaken'? The impertinent singer was later forced to apologize after having offended the delicate sensibilities of 'the towering political figure'.

Blue, I always look forward to your amazing posts!

Abe - intelligent, elegant, cosmopolitan, well nuanced in international affairs - gave Japan a truly credible, geopolitical & cultural presence .

He did not use his privileged position to profit himself, but worked unreservedly for Japan to be economically strong, politically stable, peace loving nation with a distinct invaluable cultural heritage.

Not sure what planet you are living on, but it doesn't correspond to reality.

Yes, Abe went to an elite school - based totally on his family's position. He wasn't what one would call "sharp."

Between his "Beautiful Country" rhetoric that he never bothered to explain (because he couldn't in a way that would not scream "NATIONALISM!") and his Diet performances in which he spouted the same euphamisms and brief talking points over and over, nobody in their right mind would confuse him with "Intelligent."

And never used his position to benefit himself because he was already quiet wealthy. No, Shinzo used his power to benefit yaks, nationalists and other scummy figures. His adminstration was synonomous with corruption.

He did have some good aspects. He basically drug Japan into the modern regional security reality it lives in and not the la-la land of "If we are nice and invest, nobody will try to harm us."

And he sure didn't deserve to die on the street at the hands of a nutter.

But the modern iteration of Churchill he most definately was not.