Roundtable “The Legacy of Shinzo Abe Cabinets: Politics, Economics, Diplomacy”

Abstract

On July 8, 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, who remained one of Japan’s most influential political leaders, was shot dead while participating in an election event. A month and a half before Abe's assassination, a round table was held on the legacy of Abe's cabinets with the participation of Russian Japanese studies scholars from several universities and research institutions in Russia and Japan. During the discussion, a comprehensive analysis of the foreign policy of Abe's cabinets and, above all, his diplomacy vis-à-vis Russia was given. Japan's military security policy underwent radical changes under Abe, with the concept of proactive pacifism being its ideological formalization. Among Abe's achievements in the domestic political sphere, the participants of the round table especially noted his ability to control the bureaucracy and use the slightest miscalculations of his political opponents, as well as skillful image-making and the use of slogans for propaganda purposes. It was stated that the policy of ‘Abenomics’, proclaimed by Abe, remains relevant today, although some of its intermediate goals have already been achieved. The set of measures carried out by Abe's cabinets and aimed at creating conditions for expanding women's participation in the economy, called ‘Womenomics’, was analyzed. In conclusion, the data of a survey of Japanese students focusing on the transformation of their views on the outcome of World War II under the influence of Abe's ideas are presented.

Keywords

• shinzō abe
• national security strategy
• right-wing nationalist views
• peace treaty
• abenomics
• womenomics
• results of world war ii