650 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
The aerial view of the Los Angeles campus of the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy where Shinzo Abe studied from 1977 to 1979.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
3 Chome-3-1 Kichijoji Kitamachi, Musashino, Tokyo 180-8633, Japan
Shinzo Abe graduated from Seikei University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in political sciences.
Career
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2014
14 Glenfell Place, Epsom, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
Shinzo Abe speaks to the media after a traditional Maori welcome at Government House on July 7, New Zealand. Photo by Fiona Goodall.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2014
Villa Maria Winery, Auckland, New Zealand
Shinzo Abe and then New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at Villa Maria Winery meet with English students from a new edu-sport programme on July 7 in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo by Fiona Goodall.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2015
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Shinzo Abe waits for the arrival of then British Prime Minister David Cameron as they conduct a bilateral meeting at the summit of G7 nations at Schloss Elmau on June 8, Germany. Photo by Carl Court.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2016
Hangzhou, China
President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Shinzo Abe to the G20 Summit on September 4 in Hangzhou, China. Photo by Lintao Zhang.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2016
Av. Pres. Castelo Branco, Portão 3 - Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20271-130, Brazil
Shinzo Abe appears during the 'Love Sport Tokyo 2020' segment during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the Rio Olympic Games at Maracana Stadium on August 21 in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by David Ramos.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2017
Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow, Russian Federation
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Shinzo Abe during talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace on April, 27 in Moscow. Photo by Mikhail Svetlov.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
Charlevoix, Canada
German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberates with United States president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the official agenda on the second day of the G7 summit on June 9 in Charlevoix, Canada. (From left to right) Larry Kudlow, director of the United States National Economic Council, Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, French president, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japanese deputy chief cabinet secretary, Shinzo Abe, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for foreign affairs, John Bolton, United States national security adviser, and Donald Trump. Photo by Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Shinzo Abe and United States President Donald Trump walk along the Rose Garden colonnade as they arrive for a joint news conference at the White House on June 7 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Chip Somodevilla.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
4 Ōizumigakuenchō, 練馬区 東京都 178-0061, Japan
Shinzo Abe reviews troops of the country's Self Defense Forces during the annual review at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force Camp Asaka on October 14. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
Renda Huitang W Rd, Xicheng District, China, 100031
China's Premier Li Keqiang (left) accompanies Shinzo Abe to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People on October 26 in Beijing. Photo by Lintao Zhang.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
Renda Huitang W Rd, Xicheng District, China, 100031
China's Premier Li Keqiang (right) with Shinzo Abe attend a joint news conference at the Great Hall of the People on October 26 in Beijing. Photo by Lintao Zhang.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2018
4 Ōizumigakuenchō, 練馬区 東京都 178-0061, Japan
Shinzo Abe reviews troops of the country's Self Defense Forces during the annual review at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force Camp Asaka on October 14. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
Biarritz, France
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Shinzo Abe for their bilateral talks during the G7 Summit on August 26 in Biarritz, France. Photo by Neil Hall - Pool.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
55 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace on April 23 in Paris. Photo by Chesnot.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
Tokyo, Japan
Shinzo Abe (center) raises his arm with other Liberal Democratic Party members at the party's annual convention on February 10 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
Tokyo, Japan
Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at the Liberal Democratic Party's annual convention on February 10 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
5-1 Ichigayahonmuracho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-8801, Japan
Shinzo Abe inspects an honor guard ahead of a Self Defense Forces senior officers' meeting at the Ministry of Defense on September 17 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
2 Chome-3-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan
Shinzo Abe speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on April 1 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
10 Downing St, Westminster, London SW1A 2AA, United Kingdom
Then British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference with Shinzo Abe after bilateral talks at 10 Downing Street on January 10 in London. Photo by Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
Chengdu, China
Shinzo Abe answers a question at a press conference after attending the 8th trilateral leaders' meeting between China, South Korea and Japan in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, on December 24. Photo by Wang Zhao-Pool.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
10-1 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0013, Japan
(From left to right) Shinzo Abe, Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Seiko Hashimoto, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kazuyoshi Akaba, Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike, and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Vice President, Toshiaki Endo, attend the construction completion ceremony of the New National Stadium on December 15 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2019
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shakes hands with Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting on September 19 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi - Pool.
Gallery of Shinzo Abe (Abe Shinzo)
2020
Tokyo, Japan
Shinzo Abe in a face mask attends an ordinary session at the upper house of Parliament on April 2 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Achievements
Membership
Awards
Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud
Shinzo Abe received the Special Class Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2007.
Grand Cross of the Order of Honour
Shinzo Abe is a recipient of the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour, Greece.
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Shinzo Abe was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2014.
Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna
Shinzo Abe received the Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna on June 3, 2015.
Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Shinzo Abe was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 2017.
Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown
Shinzo Abe received the Grand Cross of the Order of the Oak Crown in 2017.
Grand Cross of the Order of Ivory Merit
Shinzo Abe was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Ivory Merit in 2014.
Shinzo Abe and then New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at Villa Maria Winery meet with English students from a new edu-sport programme on July 7 in Auckland, New Zealand. Photo by Fiona Goodall.
Shinzo Abe waits for the arrival of then British Prime Minister David Cameron as they conduct a bilateral meeting at the summit of G7 nations at Schloss Elmau on June 8, Germany. Photo by Carl Court.
Av. Pres. Castelo Branco, Portão 3 - Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro - RJ, 20271-130, Brazil
Shinzo Abe appears during the 'Love Sport Tokyo 2020' segment during the Closing Ceremony on Day 16 of the Rio Olympic Games at Maracana Stadium on August 21 in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by David Ramos.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel deliberates with United States president Donald Trump on the sidelines of the official agenda on the second day of the G7 summit on June 9 in Charlevoix, Canada. (From left to right) Larry Kudlow, director of the United States National Economic Council, Theresa May, UK Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron, French president, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japanese deputy chief cabinet secretary, Shinzo Abe, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for foreign affairs, John Bolton, United States national security adviser, and Donald Trump. Photo by Jesco Denzel/Bundesregierung.
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, United States
Shinzo Abe and United States President Donald Trump walk along the Rose Garden colonnade as they arrive for a joint news conference at the White House on June 7 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Chip Somodevilla.
Shinzo Abe reviews troops of the country's Self Defense Forces during the annual review at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force Camp Asaka on October 14. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
Renda Huitang W Rd, Xicheng District, China, 100031
China's Premier Li Keqiang (left) accompanies Shinzo Abe to view an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony outside the Great Hall of the People on October 26 in Beijing. Photo by Lintao Zhang.
Renda Huitang W Rd, Xicheng District, China, 100031
China's Premier Li Keqiang (right) with Shinzo Abe attend a joint news conference at the Great Hall of the People on October 26 in Beijing. Photo by Lintao Zhang.
Shinzo Abe reviews troops of the country's Self Defense Forces during the annual review at the Japan Ground Self Defense Force Camp Asaka on October 14. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
AU Teniente General Pablo Riccheri Km 33,5, B1802 Ezeiza, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Shinzo Abe and his wife Akie Abe arrive to Buenos Aires for G20 Leaders' Summit at Ministro Pistarini International Airport on November 29 in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Photo by Amilcar Orfali.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson meets Shinzo Abe for their bilateral talks during the G7 Summit on August 26 in Biarritz, France. Photo by Neil Hall - Pool.
Shinzo Abe (center) raises his arm with other Liberal Democratic Party members at the party's annual convention on February 10 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
5-1 Ichigayahonmuracho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 162-8801, Japan
Shinzo Abe inspects an honor guard ahead of a Self Defense Forces senior officers' meeting at the Ministry of Defense on September 17 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
10 Downing St, Westminster, London SW1A 2AA, United Kingdom
Then British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference with Shinzo Abe after bilateral talks at 10 Downing Street on January 10 in London. Photo by Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool.
Shinzo Abe answers a question at a press conference after attending the 8th trilateral leaders' meeting between China, South Korea and Japan in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, on December 24. Photo by Wang Zhao-Pool.
10-1 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0013, Japan
(From left to right) Shinzo Abe, Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Seiko Hashimoto, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kazuyoshi Akaba, Tokyo Governor, Yuriko Koike, and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Vice President, Toshiaki Endo, attend the construction completion ceremony of the New National Stadium on December 15 in Tokyo. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shakes hands with Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting on September 19 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi - Pool.
650 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
The aerial view of the Los Angeles campus of the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy where Shinzo Abe studied from 1977 to 1979.
(The book illuminates the politician's reasoned positions ...)
The book illuminates the politician's reasoned positions on social security and educational reform and provides the story of the making of a proud conservative.
Shinzo Abe is a Japanese politician. He was the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan and Prime Minister of Japan for one term before taking up the leadership of the country's Liberal Democratic Party and returning to the premiership in 2012.
Background
Shinzo Abe was born on September 21, 1954 in Tokyo, Japan, into a family immersed in Japanese politics on both its paternal and maternal sides. His father, Shintaro Abe, was country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1982 to 1986, and his father's father, Kan Abe, who first worked in a mall, served in Japan's House of Representatives. Abe's mother, Yoko Kishi, was a daughter of Nobusuke Kishi, a key military leader during World War II who served as part of General Hideki Tojo's circle of advisers. Kishi was Japan's Prime Minister from 1957 to 1960. Shinzo Abe is also a great-nephew of another Japanese Prime Minister, Eisaku Satō, who was at the helm from 1964 to 1972.
Education
Shinzo Abe began his education at Seikei Elementary School and then attended Seikei Junior High School and Seikei Senior High School. Later, he enrolled at Seikei University to study political science.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1977, Shinzo Abe went to the United States to study English language and political science at the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy. He remained there for only three semesters and returned to Japan at the beginning of 1979.
Abe has honorary doctorates from Rangsit University, Thailand, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and Turkmen State University.
The start of Shinzo Abe's career can be counted from his service at Kōbe Steel, Ltd, major Japanese steel manufacturer, which staff he joined in April 1979. After leaving the company three years later, he became actively involved in the Liberal Democratic Party where he occupied a succession of posts, including private secretary to the chairperson of the Party's General Council and to the LDP secretary-general. He then served as the assistant executive to then Minister of Foreign Affairs, his father Shintaro Abe.
In 1993, Shinzo Abe entered the House of Representatives by winning the seat from the first district of Yamaguchi Prefecture, vacated by the death of his father two years earlier. From the very beginning, he was one of the important members of the House. In 1997, Shinzō led the 'Japanese Society for History Textbook Reform.' He also took part in the foundation of the 'Institute of Junior Assembly Members Who Think about the Outlook of Japan and History Education' and became its bureau chief.
In 1999, Shinzo Abe took the helm of the Social Affairs Division. Next, from 2002 to 2003, Abe held the post of the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary. When in 2002 North Korea revealed that it had kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens in the 1970s and '80s, Abe was chosen by the government to oversee the negotiations on behalf of the abductees' families. The politician was largely supported in his tough stance toward North Korea.
By 2003, Abe was assigned the Secretary-General of LDP. Three years later, Koizumi had to step down both as Prime Minister and LDP President according to Party's term limits. As he didn't select his successor, elections were held. Abe took up the Party's presidential post on September 20, 2006, and six days later, the position of Prime Minister.
By the middle of 2007, Abe's government faced a series of public gaffes and financial scandals. The administration was criticized for its slow response to the discovery that for a decade the government had been mishandling the pension records of millions of citizens. The suicide of the Minister of Agriculture only increased the no-confidence in LDP which in July 2007 lost its majority in the upper house to a coalition headed by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). Shinzo Abe announced his resignation on September 26 that same year.
Abe retained his seat in the lower house of the Diet but kept political silence for several years, especially when the government was taken under control by a coalition of Democratic Party of Japan in 2009. Three years later, on September 26, Shinzo Abe was reelected as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan lost its majority in lower house and needed LDP's help to pass the bills. In return, Abe and his associates demanded early poll.
The election was held on December 16, 2012. LDP, under the leadership of Abe, won 294 seats out of 480 in the lower house. Together with New Komeito Party, Abe was able to form the government. Abe was again appointed the Prime Minister of Japan ten days later. However, LDP was in minority in the upper house and it created delay in passing the bills.
The situation changed after the July 2013 elections to the upper house of the Diet when the candidates of LDP and its New Komeito allies got majority seats and as a result Abe had control over both houses. This gave him the opportunity to pursue his policies more vigorously.
Successful at the beginning, the ambitious economic plan that Abe undertook during his second term as Prime Minister led the country to recession by Autumn 2014. The approval rating of his government plunged. The politician then dissolved the lower house and called for snap parliamentary elections. Although the voter turnout was low on December 14, LDP won a landslide victory. Shinzo Abe was now free to pursue his policies, giving special focus to constitutional amendments concerning its peace clauses.
The initiative was strongly criticized by popular opposition, including former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama. However, both that situation and the controversy over the proposed new stadium in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games didn't prevent Abe from being elected without objection for another term as LDP's President in September 2015.
Although Abe's personal approval ratings didn't exceed 50 percent since December 2014, the LDP and its New Komeito allies managed to receive supermajorities in both the upper and lower houses of the Diet at the July 2016 elections. The victory paved the way for constitutional changes that Abe had long advocated. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan wasn't able to present any credible alternatives to the policy of the ruling party.
Although a string of scandals in early 2017 significantly lowered the popularity of Abe's government, the 48th general election of members of the House of Representatives ended by the landslide victory of the LDP. Shinzo Abe was reelected for his fourth term as Prime Minister.
By the middle of 2018, the approval rating of Abe's administration achieved its lowest, since 2012, rate of 30% after a series of scandals, including the falsification of one case with the Moritomo Gakuen with the involvement of the finance ministry. Many politicians, such as former Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi, called Abe to resign. However, on September 20 of that same year, Shinzo Abe was reelected as the President of Liberal Democratic Party.
On August 28, 2020, Abe announced his impending retirement from office for health reasons. He noted that he will continue as Prime Minister until his successor will be elected by the LDP.
(The book illuminates the politician's reasoned positions ...)
2006
Politics
A conservative, Shinzo Abe is often called a right-wing nationalist by political experts. He shares revisionist views on Japanese history.
After taking up Prime Minister's office in 2006, Abe sought to strengthen relationships with the United States and pursue a more assertive foreign policy. Abe has maintained strict course of conduct in the relations with North Korea. The politician supported American sanctions against the country in response to its nuclear test and initiated a range of unilateral sanctions on North Korea which consisted in a ban on all visits to Japanese ports by North Korean vessels.
Since the beginning of his premiership, Shinzo Abe has been a proponent for the amendments to the Article 9 of the Constitution, which would allow the country to keep military forces. The reinterpretation approved by the cabinet of ministers in 2014 paved the way for the necessary bills that would make it easier for Japan to use military force if the country was attacked or threatened. Those bills subsequently were passed by the lower house in July 2015 and the upper house in September.
The main principles of his economic policy, dubbed Abenomics, are allowing the value of the yen to fall against the United States dollar and other foreign currencies, increasing the money supply and government spending on major public-works projects, monetary easing, tax incentives, and structural renovations.
Views
Shinzo Abe headed a team of the Liberal Democratic Party, which led a survey on "excessive sexual education and gender-free education." The members of the team voiced disapproval of anatomical dolls and other teaching tools "not taking into consideration the age of children," schools' policies forbidding traditional boys' and girls' festivals, and mixed-gender physical education classes.
In 2015, Abe stood against admitting refugees affected by conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, saying that the inner problems of Japan should be solved first. However, short-term working visas for migrant workers to "work and raise incomes for a limited period of time, and then return home" were approved.
Quotations:
"I think it is the responsibility of anyone involved in politics to always think of what Japan can do to contribute more to the peace and stability not just of Japan and the region but of the entire world."
"To serve as prime minister while being too mindful of the approval rating is like serving as a prime minister on a roller coaster. What is important, I believe, is that I really act on promises that I make and leave results. Leave a track record and show that to the Japanese public, who will, at the end of the day, I hope, appreciate it."
"The 20th century was a century in which human rights were infringed upon in numerous parts of the world, and Japan also bears responsibility in that regard. I believe that we have to look at our own history with humility and think about our responsibility."
"My opinion is that politicians should be humble in the face of history. And whenever history is a matter of debate, it should be left in the hands of historians and experts."
"Human security recognizes the importance of individuals and that the key to ensuring growth in developing countries is to foster individual talent and abilities, build self-reliance, and put people in a position to make a broader contribution to society. Growth must be inclusive, and no one must be left behind."
"The Japan-U.S. alliance is an irreplaceable alliance. And I would like to further consolidate and broaden that alliance."
"As a country with experience of coping with earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters, Japan believes in emphasizing the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction. We therefore prioritize investment in disaster prevention and post-disaster improvements under a policy of Build Back Better (BBB)."
"I am a patriot. I would think there are no politicians who are not patriots. Since I am a politician, I often get criticized as I try to exercise what I believe to be right. However, if you mind such criticism, I think you can't protect people's lives."
Membership
Shinzo Abe is a member of the revisionist Nippon Kaigi organization.
Nippon Kaigi
,
Japan
Personality
Shinzo Abe also speaks English in addition to his native Japanese.
Physical Characteristics:
Shinzo Abe is 1.75 meters tall.
Connections
Shinzo Abe formed a family with Akie Matsuzaki, a socialite and former radio disc jockey, in 1987. Abe and Matsuzaki have no children.