“Japan is back,” announced Shinzo Abe in a speech during a visit to the United States in February 2013, shortly after he became Japan’s Prime Minister for the second time. Over the next seven years, Mr. Abe, who announced his retirement on Friday because of health reasons, would not only become his country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, but one who would leave a lasting legacy on Japan’s foreign policy, defence strategy, and role in Asia. Also read: When longevity is the biggest achievement: on Shinzo AbeAdvertisingAdvertising“Japan is not, and will never be, a tier-two country,” he had said in the 2013 speech, outlining three priorities for his foreign policy. On China, Mr. Abe was less hawkish than many expected him to be, both home and abroad, as he balanced a fine line between courting China economically while mounting a robust counter to China’s deepening influence in the region. While Mr. Abe might have changed Japanese foreign policy, it is “an open question to whether he has changed the country itself”, said Mr. McGregor.

Source: The Hindu August 28, 2020 14:02 UTC