Shinzo Abe was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.
He was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history.
Abe also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2006 under Junichiro Koizumi and was briefly leader of the opposition in 2012.
Abe was a conservative whom political commentators widely described as a right-wing Japanese nationalist.
He was a member of Nippon Kaigi and held negationist views on Japanese history, including denying the role of government coercion in the recruitment of comfort women during World War II, a position which created tension with neighboring South Korea.
He proposed, advocated for and successfully enacted security reform legislation in 2015 to allow for Japanese exercise of collective security, the passage of which was controversial and met with large protests.
Abe’s premiership was known internationally for his government’s economic policies, nicknamed Abenomics, which pursued monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms.
How to pronounce Shinzo Abe
How do we pronounce Shinzo Abe?
Shinzo Abe Assassination
Abe, 67, who remains Japan’s longest serving prime minister, was assassinated with a firearm on 8 July 2022 while delivering a campaign speech in Nara.
The suspected attacker – reported to be a man in his 40s – was tackled at the scene and arrested.
Abe died in the hospital where he was receiving medical treatment, near to the attack in Nara.