Abe’s Foreign Policy Legacy: Between Hype and Historical Haze

Media Praise and Political Reality

The opening of the article challenges the near-universal praise that followed Shinzo Abe’s death, contrasting it with Mark Antony’s famous line about how “the evil that men do lives after them.” Instead of that cynicism, the public obituary treatment of Abe leaned toward mythmaking—amplifying his real and imagined accomplishments while softening or ignoring failures. The author suggests this treatment reflected not only media bias but also the status Abe enjoyed while alive: revered by his followers, feared by critics who saw echoes of militarist nationalism.

Even so, the piece resists rushing into final judgment. The real implications of Abe’s policies—particularly in foreign affairs and defense—will likely remain unclear until access to archival documents is granted. Much like Neville Chamberlain’s “peace in our time” moment, political legacy is something time recalibrates. With this in mind, the article frames its analysis not as definitive, but as an informed provisional assessment of Abe’s impact from the Kantei.

Dynasties, Delays, and the Danger of Early Judgments

The most striking contextual detail raised is the hereditary nature of Japanese politics—a fact often overlooked outside Japan. Abe, like many of his peers, came from a long political lineage, a system that fosters continuity but can also stall reform. This dynastic backdrop explains much about his persistence, influence, and the reverence he commanded among Japan’s conservative base.

For foreign readers, the article offers a necessary correction to the oversimplified hero/villain narratives that often accompany coverage of Japanese politics. For domestic ones, it underscores how history remains in flux—particularly when constructed on selective memory and limited data. Until the archives open, this early assessment invites critical reflection: not just on Abe’s leadership, but on the systems that shaped and sustained it.