Shinzo Abe

If you haven't heard, Japan has a mystery-man of a new Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe. Abe was elected in mid-September within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to replace outgoing PM Junichiro Koizumi, and his talk is tough, hawkish and very, very patriotic.

Like his predecessor, Abe is immensely popular, and as a result he's faced very few actual challenges to his platform. (which is only four pages long) He's basically casting himself as a hard-right politician, which is a popular posture in Japan, but at 52 he's fairly young and a relative newcomer, so there are very few actual archives of his political opinions. What records there are, though, are very scary. From CBC.ca, dated September 22nd.

Portraying himself as a right-wing candidate who believes patriotism is the solution to Japan's troubles, Abe has made clear his intentions to reinvigorate the Japanese military.

Critics now fear that with Abe in power, there will be an overhaul of the traditional postwar pacifism ingrained in Japan's constitution.

The grandson of an accused war criminal who went on to become prime minister, Abe has made controversial remarks in the past, arguing it is "not necessarily unconstitutional" for Japan to use nuclear weapons in preventative pre-emptive strikes against North Korea. (Source)

It's all very reminiscent of the early 1900s. Speaking of which, among Abe's supporters are the hard-right organizations that consider putting the truth about Japanese war-crimes into highschool textbooks to be unpatriotic. Scary, no?

But as easy as it is for the Western pundits to label him dangerous, having a tabula rasa of a politician as PM may be ideal given Japan's chilly relations with its neighbours. Abe has chosen to play down visits to the Yakusuni Shrine where war-criminals are buried along with ordinary soldiers who fell in the Pacific theatre. Today, Abe is in Beijing meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and on Monday, a national holidy here in Japan, he will be in Seoul meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. His honeymoon visit marks the first high-level exchange between China and Japan since 2001, and it shows a willingness on his part, as well as on China's part, to behave, shall we say, maturely. Also from CBC.ca, from today's edition.

Chinese state media have given prominent coverage to Abe's comments, with a television broadcast showing Abe saying he wanted to strengthen dialogue and establish what he called "future-oriented" ties.

Analysts say the trip is highly significant and indicates both sides are willing to take a more pragmatic approach to bilateral ties.

[...]

"Beijing also seems to be quite anxious to tell the international community that it's diplomacy has matured — at least for time being — to the point that it's willing to downplay ideological and cultural/historical issues and focus more on practical matters such as trade, the economy, or the solution of the nuclear crisis on Korean peninsula," [Willy Lam, a veteran China watcher] said. (Source)

Obviously, the recent drama on the Korean peninsula will dominate the agenda today and tomorrow, but Abe's trip was originally conceived as a simple kiss-and-make-up session. And as a blank slate, Abe is in an ideal position to deal with the idealogical and historical tensions that plagued Koizumi's era.

And Abe is showing a willingness to play softball, to show tact and understanding for the domestic and international situations that his neighbours are in.

Or maybe not. I recognize that there is a often a sizeable abyss between what a politician says to win the public's affection, and what he actually does when he's thrust into the boardroom. These two meetings will be the first true tests of Abe's public persona as Prime Minister, and his private goals as a diplomat. Maybe he will start a war after all, but so far I give him cred for his thoughtful and soft diplomacy.

Stay tuned.