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| Japanese election victory hands Shinzo Abe a chance for redemption | Japanese election victory hands Shinzo Abe a chance for redemption |
| (17 days later) | |
| Japan's voters appear to have short memories. Shinzo Abe, who is assured of becoming prime minister after his party's resounding victory in Sunday's election, last led the country in 2006, but stepped down after a troubled year in office. | Japan's voters appear to have short memories. Shinzo Abe, who is assured of becoming prime minister after his party's resounding victory in Sunday's election, last led the country in 2006, but stepped down after a troubled year in office. |
| The official reason given for his abrupt resignation was a chronic bowel ailment, which the leader, 58, says he now controls with a new drug. But his health condition may have been a cover. Abe's first administration was marred by scandals and gaffes. Months before he quit, his Liberal Democratic party [LDP] suffered a heavy defeat in upper house elections. | The official reason given for his abrupt resignation was a chronic bowel ailment, which the leader, 58, says he now controls with a new drug. But his health condition may have been a cover. Abe's first administration was marred by scandals and gaffes. Months before he quit, his Liberal Democratic party [LDP] suffered a heavy defeat in upper house elections. |
| Abe says he has learned the lessons of his inglorious debut as prime minister. His tenure began with encouraging diplomatic overtures to Beijing and Seoul over historical and territorial disputes. It ended with accusations that he had filled his cabinet with close friends who were woefully under-qualified for their posts. | Abe says he has learned the lessons of his inglorious debut as prime minister. His tenure began with encouraging diplomatic overtures to Beijing and Seoul over historical and territorial disputes. It ended with accusations that he had filled his cabinet with close friends who were woefully under-qualified for their posts. |
| Sunday's resounding election victory has given him one last shot at redemption, as only the second Japanese politician to serve twice as prime minister since the war. | Sunday's resounding election victory has given him one last shot at redemption, as only the second Japanese politician to serve twice as prime minister since the war. |
| Behind Abe's soft-spoken manner and aristocratic background lurks a fervent nationalist, which led one liberal commentator to describe him as "the most dangerous politician in Japan". | Behind Abe's soft-spoken manner and aristocratic background lurks a fervent nationalist, which led one liberal commentator to describe him as "the most dangerous politician in Japan". |
| Abe has often said he went into politics to help Japan "escape the postwar regime" and throw off the shackles of wartime guilt. In its place he has talked of creating a "beautiful Japan" defended by a strong military and guided by a new sense of national pride. | Abe has often said he went into politics to help Japan "escape the postwar regime" and throw off the shackles of wartime guilt. In its place he has talked of creating a "beautiful Japan" defended by a strong military and guided by a new sense of national pride. |
| "I have not changed my view from five years ago when I was prime minister that the biggest issue for Japan is truly escaping the postwar regime," he said in a recent magazine article. | "I have not changed my view from five years ago when I was prime minister that the biggest issue for Japan is truly escaping the postwar regime," he said in a recent magazine article. |
| Abe's biggest ideological influence was his maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who was arrested, but never charged, for alleged war crimes. He went on to become prime minister in the late 1950s. | Abe's biggest ideological influence was his maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who was arrested, but never charged, for alleged war crimes. He went on to become prime minister in the late 1950s. |
| Decades later, confronted with an aggressive China and nuclear-armed North Korea, Abe is eager to fulfil his grandfather's dream of giving Japan's military the teeth he believes it has been denied by the country's postwar pacifism. | Decades later, confronted with an aggressive China and nuclear-armed North Korea, Abe is eager to fulfil his grandfather's dream of giving Japan's military the teeth he believes it has been denied by the country's postwar pacifism. |
| His return to office will surely ring alarm bells in Beijing and Seoul. Abe says he will not cede ground in territorial disputes with China and South Korea. He is also the founding member of a group of rightwing MPs who support a revisionist version of history that plays down, or overlooks, Japanese militarism's worst excesses in Asia in the first half of the 20th century. | His return to office will surely ring alarm bells in Beijing and Seoul. Abe says he will not cede ground in territorial disputes with China and South Korea. He is also the founding member of a group of rightwing MPs who support a revisionist version of history that plays down, or overlooks, Japanese militarism's worst excesses in Asia in the first half of the 20th century. |
| Abe's confirmation as prime minister later this month represents his last chance to take care of unfinished business. Japan, and the wider region, is waiting to see if he stays true to his beliefs or, as some expect, gives way to a more pragmatic Abe Mark II. | Abe's confirmation as prime minister later this month represents his last chance to take care of unfinished business. Japan, and the wider region, is waiting to see if he stays true to his beliefs or, as some expect, gives way to a more pragmatic Abe Mark II. |
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