Shinzo Abe (1954 - 2022)

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (1954 - 2022) was assassinated on the 8 July during a political rally. In my piece for The Times of Malta (13.VII.2022), I pay tribute to this outstanding conservative statesman:

"He was the last prime minister of Emperor Akihito and the first of Emperor Naruhito, thus being the figure to preside over the transition between the era of Heisei (‘becoming peace’) and Reiwa (‘beautiful harmony’).

Perhaps, Abe’s political positions reflect this transition, from one where peace is taken as a sine-qua-non to one where peace is not enough since it has become too much of an ‘absence of conflict’. In this regard, harmony becomes essential. However, the question remains; how does one achieve this?

Though some of his policies were described as ‘hawkish’, Abe represented the need for a new generation of politicians to reassess their previous definitions of peace and that the post-war consensus has, sadly, come to an irreversible end.

His voice will be sorely missed in this debate."

The full piece may be read on The Times of Malta website by clicking here.