The political demise and fall of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is the best news from Japan I have seen in some time. While Abe was down in the polls, it is the rejection of him inside the Liberal Democratic Party and his own personal frustration with his party leadership that gives me hope that a healthy, rather than strident, Japanese nationalism may yet emerge as Japan’s defining national personality.
I’m glad that Abe emerged, got the top post — and now essentially has been tossed out (though yes, I know, he resigned).
Abe’s brief tenure — and his obsession with the most strident, history-denying edge of Japan’s war experiences and nationalism — will most likely chasten any politicos that try to exploit these issues again.
I share my thoughts on Abe’s resignation on Chicago National Public Radio’s Worldview.
— Steve Clemons
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