The assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a major loss for the free world. Skillfully threading the needle between positive nationalism and strong democratic alliances, Abe was both a Japanese patriot and close American friend.
Recognizing as much, President Joe Biden must attend Abe’s funeral. If this conflicts with Biden’s scheduled visit to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the West Bank this coming week, so be it. Japan has been a close American ally since the end of the Second World War, but rarely has it been a closer or more important ally than it is today. That wouldn’t be the case without Abe.
In his second tenure as prime minister between 2012 and 2020, Abe recognized the increasing threat posed by Chinese Communist imperialism. He was a steady partner as President Donald Trump entered office and began pushing back against Beijing’s political, property, cyber, and territorial aggression. Where other fake allies such as Angela Merkel pretended to respect the choice of the American people, Abe embraced the new president. Accepting Trump for his flaws, Abe became as trusted a partner to the new president as he was to former President Barack Obama.
Abe left office with a strengthened military and constitutional changes enabling that military to operate alongside the United States and other allies such as Australia in combat. Today, Abe’s legacy lives on in Japan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, who is further bolstering Japan’s military and preparing it to fight alongside the U.S. should war with China arrive. Indeed, elections for Japan’s upper House of Councillors on Sunday may enable Kishida to finally rid Japan of its pacifist constitution.
Amid the closening relationship between China and Russia, and rising Chinese threats to Taiwan and in the South China Sea, America’s need for credible allies is significant. Japan’s willingness to stand with the U.S. and more vocally condemn Xi Jinping’s aggression stands in contrast to far older American allies in Europe. Again, Abe was the critical ingredient to this evolution in Tokyo’s security strategy.
Put another way, Abe and his fellow citizens deserve America’s deep gratitude.
President Biden used his inaugural address to pledge that he would “be a strong and trusted partner” to our allies. Attending Abe’s funeral is the least that the president can do to reassure a traumatized Japan of America’s commitment.
