Publication

This commentary provides an assessment of the first six months of Shinzo Abe’s leadership following his election in December 2012. The author identifies a number of successes relating to domestic economic policy and Tokyo’s relationships with the key actors of East Asia. It also talks about Abe’s attitude toward Japan’s pre-1945 foreign policy, which generated a diplomatic backlash in the US, China and South Korea. The author suggests a more moderate view of this policy has emerged since then, and hopes that it will be maintained following the summer 2013 election.