Shinzo Abe Was ‘Trump Before Trump’—Except He Pulled It Off

7 comments

1. More on this subject from other reputable sources:

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   – NHK (B): [Asian countries express shock, condolences over Abe's death | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20220708_60/)
   – Associated Press (A): [Attack on former Japan PM stuns nation known for gun control](https://apnews.com/article/shinzo-abe-shooting-japan-gun-control-0ab2e5afccf89fe71b8d594e4a4ad1cc)
   – Forbes (B-): [Yamagami Tetsuya ‘Intended To Kill’ Shinzo Abe–Here’s What We Know About The Shooter](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/07/08/yamagami-tetsuya-intended-to-kill-shinzo-abeheres-what-we-know-about-the-shooter/)
   – PBS (A): [Remembering the life and legacy of Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/remembering-the-life-and-legacy-of-japans-former-prime-minister-shinzo-abe)

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   [__Extended Summary__](https://www.reddit.com/r/newswall/comments/vuuq7c/) | [More: Asian countries express …](https://www.newswall.org/story/biden-global-leaders-express-shock-over-abe-shooting) | [FAQ & Grades](https://www.reddit.com/r/newswall/comments/uxgfm5/faq_newswall_bot/) | I’m a bot

2. And for a more substantiated retrospective by Noah Smith who is, at the very least, more respected for his Japan analysis than *Jake Adelstein*: https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/abe-shinzo-a-retrospective

   For all of Abe’s alleged views and unsavoury associations, his administration did not manage to successfully create a Nippon Kaigi ultranationalist paradise as many (Western) people seem to think, even with the lack of meaningful parliamentary opposition.

   One of the more troubling laws he actually managed to enact would be the overwhelmingly unpopular [State Secrecy Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Secrecy_Law), which – surprise, surprise – was [actually pushed for by the United States](https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2013/12/31/258655342/japans-state-secrets-law-hailed-by-u-s-denounced-by-japanese).

3. Abe, a populist? Have you never heard him give a speech? The guy was born and raised to be a professional, full-time politician, and couldn’t give two shits about connecting with “the people”. He didn’t tap into anti-Korean xenophobia to manipulate voters—he did it because he’s an anti-Korean xenophobe. This is deranged.

4. I think this should be labelled as satire.

5. The way Adelstein writes… You can just tell that he wishes he was sitting down at a clunky typewriter with a cigarette in his mouth while wearing braces. The guy is living in fantasy land.

6. If they put any effort into this, they would have suggested Suga and not Abe first. Or maybe Aso or Mori.

7. Saw the by-line and instantly closed the page.