September 30, 2006
EVEN MORE LIKE US:
Who’s Afraid of Shinzo Abe? (YOSHIHISA KOMORI, September 30, 2006, NY Times)
LAST Tuesday, Japan’s Parliament elected Shinzo Abe as its youngest prime minister since World War II. Some critics in Japan have called him a “hawkish nationalist,†but in fact, he — like the nearly 80 percent of Japanese also born after the war — has merely been shaped by democracy.Mr. Abe in particular was also influenced by the course of Japan’s alliance with America.
Which is exactly what they're afraid of. Posted by Orrin Judd at September 30, 2006 10:01 AM
It's a good thing, they're not aware his grandfather was Kishi, Noburuki, a former
Class A War criminal, who became prime
minister in the 1950s
Well, the sins of his father aside. I think he'll do well in the job.
On the recent blogger poll of great Americans I though Gen. MacArthur would have polled higher. By all accounts he was full of himself but his accomplishments were astounding. An academic record at West Point unequaled to this day. The defeat, and I mean total defeat of Japan, during WWII. Probably the greatest moment was when he refused to call on the Emporor but rather ordered the Emporor to come to him, sword held in hand. At that moment the Japanese knew for certain they had been truly defeated and the road to democracy made a bit smoother. Additionally, he personally wrote a large part of Japan's post war Constitution. I think he served our Nation's interest as well as could be done and we see the influence today.
Posted by: Tom Wall at September 30, 2006 9:03 PM