Photo/Illutration A glum-faced Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks with reporters on July 8 after Shinzo Abe’s death from an assassin’s bullet was confirmed. (Koichi Ueda)

Shinzo Abe cast a giant shadow over the political arena during his long tenure as prime minister, and also long after he left office by continuing to voice strongly held opinions on issues that mattered to him.

His assassination on July 8 is bound to jolt the political balance that formed the bedrock of the Kishida administration.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida often consulted with Abe, the nation’s longest-serving leader, before making major political and policy decisions.

During the seven years and eight months Abe held power for a second time, he championed ambitious economic reform and national security initiatives that will have a lasting effect on society. He also led his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to victory in national elections, despite lingering scandals.

He became head of the largest LDP faction after he stepped down as prime minister in 2020 for health reasons, and faction members now hold important posts in both the Kishida Cabinet and LDP executive lineup. They include Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, who is Abe’s younger brother, Koichi Haguida, the economy minister, and Tatsuo Fukuda, the chairman of the LDP General Council.

“He was the best-known Japanese politician, not only domestically but also overseas,” said one LDP executive.

Some Kishida associates raised concerns that Abe’s death would trigger a rush to fill the huge political vacuum that has arisen, thereby upsetting the balance that had been in place.

Abe consistently spoke out on topics that were dear to him.

And topping the list was constitutional revision.

Despite his efforts over many years, Abe was unable to push discussions forward on amending the pacifist Constitution while he was prime minister. This was due in part to strong resistance put up by opposition parties concerned about the prime minister calling the shots on such a drastic policy move.

But Abe continued to call for early approval of four amendment proposals made by the LDP in 2018 when he was still prime minister. Those include spelling out the legal existence of the Self-Defense Forces in the Constitution as well as adding a provision to deal with major emergencies, such as natural disasters.

Abe had told an associate, referring to the prospect of constitutional revision if the LDP wins the July 10 Upper House election, “I expect the prime minister will now feel he must get the job done himself.”

Abe also held strong views about his much-vaunted "Abenomics" package of economic measures that included monetary easing policy and aggressive government spending.

He took issue with moves to try to place greater emphasis on restoring the nation’s fiscal health and worked to block inclusion of a specific deadline for achieving a surplus in the government’s primary balance. The term refers to the use of tax and other revenue to cover programs from social security to public works projects without having to issue new government bonds

Abe went as far as to suggest that whoever succeeds Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, whose term expires next spring, should maintain the ultra-loose monetary policy. Kuroda was appointed to the post by Abe in 2013.

Even as shock waves were still reverberating in political circles and the country at large, Kishida told reporters July 8 there would be no delays in pushing ahead with administrative matters.

And with the Upper House vote just two days away, Kishida said: “I hope the public will think about what they can do to protect democracy in Japan. I ask that they work together with us to protect democracy.”

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