Abe Shinzo

Despite progress on key conservative priorities, the Japanese prime minister hasn’t been able to shake his liberal reputation.

Scandal after scandal has plagued the country since the late Abe era, each one further eroding public trust (and even interest) in government.

With snap elections and sniping at the opposition, Abe eliminated any possible challenge. Without a viable opposition, some pursue extreme measures to bring about change.

Abe Shinzo is often considered Japan’s most powerful prime minister. But he faced steep political opposition in one of his primary goals.

Tokyo’s new blueprint for development assistance expands the role of one of Japan’s greatest national strengths into the realm of geostrategy, building on the philosophy of former PM Abe Shinzo. 

Abe Shinzo learned the hard way: Voters don’t care about foreign policy achievements if the economy is struggling.

The former prime minister still headed up the LDP's largest legislative faction at the time of his assassination. Can the next leader keep the group intact?

20,000 police officers and more than 1,000 soldiers were on patrol as thousands of protesters took to the streets.

The LDP hosts a “constant struggle between people who favor more moderate patriotism and versus those favoring a more extreme nationalism. We see this not only in the LDP but within Abe himself.”

Kishida has an opportunity to demonstrate his independence now that Abe is gone. Will he return to the legacy of the Murayama statement?

The late Japanese leader stoked a reactionary social conservatism that reinforced the country's traditional gender roles.