Ape was a committed revisionist, which meant rewriting and relbilitating japan's colonial and wartime history. He came into politics in 19 93 and made bones about it. 80 % of his cabinet members were from a very conservative lobby group called te ponkagi,. So i think that these are realities of abe.
Japan's recently assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe was a leader who leaves behind a complex legacy. Internationally, he strengthened Japan's relationship with the US in ways unseen before. Closer to home, crucial good relations with South Korea dissipated. His attitude towards Japan's difficult history was sometimes praised as a readiness for neutrality, while others criticised this as denialist revisionism. In the weeks since Abe's death, Japanese citizens have also begun to grapple with the reality of how involved their political system has become with influential religious groups, too. To help unpack some of these issues and discuss how Japan will move forward, we're joined by two specialists in modern Japanese history, Satona Suzuki from SOAS, University of London, and Jeff Kingston from Temple University, Japan. Our host for this podcast is journalist and broadcaster Philippa Thomas.
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