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Reflecting on Shinzo Abe and how his legacy will impact Japan's future
Japan was rattled by the shocking assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo. Ian Bremmer speaks to longtime Abe adviser Tomohiko Taniguchi about Abe's foreign policy legacy.
In a GZERO World interview, they discuss whether current PM Fumio Kishida can pick up where his old boss left off, and how Abe's untimely death might ultimately change Japan. Is the time right to now realize Abe's unfulfilled dream of amending Japan's postwar pacifist constitution?
Taniguchi also shares how he felt when he found out his close friend had died. "I was filled with a lot of but different emotions all at the same time," he tells Ian. "Disbelief, grief, [but] the strongest emotion, of course, was anger.
In the future, Taniguchi hopes that the legacy of Japan's "cheerleader-in-chief" will help the country change for the better.
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Shinzo Abe’s goal of militarization & PM Kishida’s “golden opportunity” to reform Japan
Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has vowed to continue where his ex-boss, the late Shinzo Abe, left off. And he just got the parliamentary majority he needs to get big things done — including, perhaps, tweaking the constitution like Abe long dreamed of.
"Kishida now [has a] golden opportunity," Tomohiko Taniguchi, Abe's former adviser and close friend, tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
But it won't be easy, and constitutional change is not the only big agenda item. In fact, Taniguchi would rather Kishida prioritize re-writing Japan's social contract to spending less on the elderly and more on young Japanese. Still, he believes changing the constitution is long overdue, and the PM has now been endowed with enough political capital to "tackle these issues head-on."
Watch the GZERO World episode: Assassinated! Japan’s grief & how Shinzo Abe’s goals will shape Asia
Assassinated! Japan’s grief & how Shinzo Abe’s goals will shape Asia
How will the shocking assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan's former and longest-serving prime minister, reshape the country and the broader region?
And will it lead to realizing Abe's unfulfilled dream of amending Japan's postwar pacifist constitution?
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks to longtime Abe adviser Tomohiko Taniguchi, who shares how he felt when he found out his close friend had died.
Taniguchi also weighs in on Abe's foreign policy legacy, whether current PM Fumio Kishida can pick up where his old boss left off, and how Abe's untimely death might ultimately change Japan.
- Will Shinzo Abe's dream come true now? - GZERO Media ›
- How did Shinzo Abe change Japan, and the world? - GZERO Media ›
- Japan's “JFK” moment: Shinzo Abe assassinated - GZERO Media ›
- Japan's Shinzo Abe assassinated - GZERO Media ›
- Grief & controversy in Japan for Shinzo Abe's state funeral - GZERO Media ›
- Grief & controversy in Japan for Shinzo Abe's state funeral - GZERO Media ›
How Shinzo Abe's positive legacy could shape Japan's future
How will the shocking murder of former PM Shinzo Abe affect Japan moving forward?
In past national tragedies, especially the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, longtime Abe adviser and close friend Tomohiko Taniguchi says that the "outpouring of sympathies and empathies from abroad helped a lot."
This time, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, everyone has urged Japan to carry on — and that's what the nation is doing right now.
In the future, Taniguchi hopes that the death of Japan's "cheerleader-in-chief" will help the country change for the better.
Watch the GZERO World episode: Assassinated! Japan’s grief & how Shinzo Abe’s goals will shape Asia
- How did Shinzo Abe change Japan, and the world? - GZERO Media ›
- Japan's “JFK” moment: Shinzo Abe assassinated - GZERO Media ›
- Japan's Shinzo Abe assassinated - GZERO Media ›
- Grief & controversy in Japan for Shinzo Abe's state funeral - GZERO Media ›
- Grief & controversy in Japan for Shinzo Abe's state funeral - GZERO Media ›
Mourning, disbelief & anger at the death of Japan’s Shinzo Abe
When Tomohiko Taniguchi learned that former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe had been killed, he felt many things, but first his thoughts turned to the man who took the life of his ex-boss and mentor.
"I was filled with a lot of but different emotions all at the same time," he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World. "Disbelief, grief, [but] the strongest emotion, of course, was anger."
Still, Taniguchi believes it was an isolated incident that doesn't indicate we're at the tip of an iceberg of political violence to come for Japan.
And above all, he misses his friend.
Podcast: As Japan reels: examining Shinzo Abe’s legacy & Japan’s future with his friend and adviser
Listen: Japan is reeling from the shocking assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan's former and longest-serving prime minister. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks to longtime Abe adviser Tomohiko Taniguchi, who discusses the impact of Abe's legacy on the country and the broader region. Will Abe's unfulfilled dream of amending Japan's postwar pacifist constitution now be realized?
On a personal level, Taniguchi also shares how he felt when he found out his close friend had died, and how Abe's untimely death might ultimately change Japan. He also weighs in on whether current PM Fumio Kishida can pick up where his old boss left off.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published.
How did Shinzo Abe change Japan, and the world?
The late Shinzo Abe, Japan's former PM, often doesn't get enough credit for bolstering the morale of young Japanese, explains Tomohiko Taniguchi, Abe's former adviser and close friend, who spoke with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
On foreign policy, he is considered the architect of the Quad dialogue with the US, India, and Australia, though he failed to realize his dream of reforming Japan's constitution.
Taniguchi says Abe also tried his best to make peace with Russia, just falling short of signing a treaty to resolve the dispute over the Kuril Islands (which the Japanese refer to as the Northern Territories).
"Japan, unlike any other advanced nations, is encircled by [the] three undemocratic, militarist, authoritarian, nuclear regimes of Russia, North Korea, and China," he adds. "Shinzo Abe wanted to decrease the tension at least from Russia — to little avail."
Watch the GZERO World episode: Assassinated! Japan’s grief & how Shinzo Abe’s goals will shape Asia
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The Tokyo Show: Tomohiko Taniguchi
Ian Bremmer interviews Tomohiko Taniguchi, one of Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's most trusted aides, on GZERO World.