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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
When Shinzo Abe returned to power, the Economist termed his cabinet “dangerously nationalistic,” and the New York Times fretted over his “nationalist fantasies” The concern was misplaced. What Abe saw was the need for a stronger Japan in a dangerous world
bloomberg.com
What the World Got Wrong About Shinzo Abe
His time in power was often tainted by an undeserved distrust. But all Abe sought to do was to make Japan a normal country. 
2:56 AM · Jul 13, 2022Twitter Web App
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
These countries are three of Japan's closest neighbors. While most other nations saw only dollar signs before their eyes in China's ascension, Abe recognized the geopolitical threat it would pose. In death, he was branded a “divisive arch-conservative," and worse.
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
Abe wanted a country that wasn't beholden to the legacy of events that took place before the vast majority of the country’s population was born. I have long thought that his clearest statement on this was made in his apology on the 70th anniversary of WW2's end in 2015.
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
“We must not let our children, grandchildren, and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologize,” he said. Abe sought to draw a line under historical issues which other nations often use for purely political reasons.
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
Ultimately what Abe wanted was for Japan to have the same rights other countries enjoy: a military with which to defend itself, a country that can be proud of itself despite its brutal and violent past. In any other country, he would likely be an average center-right politician.
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
Oh just in case, I don’t mean to single out these two publications, just to note that this was the prevailing mood at the time among largely middle-of-the-road publications
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Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド
@GearoidReidy
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When Shinzo Abe returned to power, the Economist termed his cabinet “dangerously nationalistic,” and the New York Times fretted over his “nationalist fantasies” The concern was misplaced. What Abe saw was the need for a stronger Japan in a dangerous world bloomberg.com/opinion/articl
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David McNeill
@DavidMcNeill3
Okumura-san, as so often, is mistaken. The article was written by those arch-lefty Economist editors. Incidentally, the piece notes that more than half the cabinet favor visits to Yasukuni and want school textbooks "rewritten in ways that put a shine on Japan’s militarism." (1)
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