China News Service, Beijing, July 8 (Reporter Zhu Chenxi) Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was attacked and shot in the morning of the 8th while delivering a speech for Liberal Democratic Party Senate candidates near a station in Nara City. He died in hospital from his injuries at the age of 67.

The longest-serving Japanese prime minister

　　Shinzo Abe is Japan's longest-serving prime minister.

Shinzo Abe was born on September 21, 1954 in a political family in Tokyo, Japan. His maternal grandfather Kishi Shinsuke and his great-uncle Eisaku Sato both served as Prime Ministers of Japan.

　　Shinzo Abe graduated from Seikei University. After studying in the United States, he entered the steel manufacturer Kobe Steel. After that, his father Shintaro Abe became the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He took this as an opportunity to become the secretary of the minister and enter the political world.

　　In September 2006, 52-year-old Shinzo Abe was elected president of the Democratic Party and was later elected prime minister, becoming the first Japanese prime minister born after World War II.

He was also the youngest prime minister of Japan after World War II.

In September of the following year, Shinzo Abe announced his resignation due to a sharp drop in support and suffering from ulcerative colitis.

　　Five years after his resignation, Shinzo Abe made a comeback and was re-elected as prime minister in December 2012. Since then, he has maintained a solid leadership position of "Abe is one strong".

On September 20, 2018, Shinzo Abe defeated Shigeru Shigeru, the former Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party, in the presidential election of the Liberal Democratic Party and successfully achieved three consecutive terms.

　　August 24, 2020 is Shinzo Abe's 2799th consecutive day in power, thus breaking the longest consecutive ruling record previously held by his great-uncle Eisaku Sato - Eisaku Sato from November 9, 1964 to 1972 On July 7, he served as Prime Minister of Japan, and he has been in power for 2,798 consecutive days.

　　At the end of Abe's tenure as prime minister, his approval rating fell to a low point due to his poor response to the new crown epidemic and scandals such as the "cherry blossom viewing party".

On August 28, 2020, after 2,803 days as Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe announced his resignation.

Achievements and Controversies Coexist During Prime Minister's Presidency

　　When Shinzo Abe became Prime Minister of Japan for the second time, he put forward "economic regeneration" as the top priority and proposed the "Abenomics" policy.

The "three arrows" of "Abenomics" are radical loose monetary policy, proactive fiscal policy, and structural reforms to promote growth, which helped Japan to a certain extent out of deflation.

　　However, the only part of Abenomics that is believed to be working is quantitative easing.

The "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" commented that Japan has been supporting the economy through large-scale monetary easing and economic measures to boost demand, but the growth strategy still has no results.

The potential growth rate has not increased, and the issue of how to improve production efficiency remains.

　　In addition, during his tenure, chronic diseases such as high public and private debt, shrinking spending power, and declining labor force remained untouched.

The Japanese government has twice raised the consumption tax rate to fill the funding gap in the social security system, which has caused huge controversy.

In 2014, the Abe government raised the national consumption tax from 5% to 8%; then, in October 2019, the government raised it from 8% to 10%.

　　In terms of diplomacy, during the Obama presidency, Shinzo Abe actively strengthened the so-called "Japan-US alliance" and actively participated in the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

He once vigorously carried out diplomacy with Russia, tried to resolve territorial disputes and signed a Japan-Russia peace treaty, and tried to break the deadlock in Japan-North Korea relations and solve the so-called "kidnapping" issue.

However, these efforts have not achieved practical results.

　　He also played an important role in Tokyo, Japan's bid to win the 2020 Olympic Games.

However, the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for a year due to the epidemic and will not officially open until July 2021.

　　In 2017, Japan's Moriyou Academy was exposed by the media that it obtained state-owned land valued at nearly 1 billion yen at a price of 100 million yen for the construction of an elementary school, and Abe Akie, the wife of Shinzo Abe, served as the honorary principal of the elementary school.

Shinzo Abe is also deeply involved in the "cherry blossom viewing party" storm.

According to Japanese media reports, Shinzo Abe and his support club may have misappropriated about 8 million yen of political funds to fill the gap in the cost of the "cherry blossom viewing party" event.

Opposition parties said that Shinzo Abe may have used the "cherry blossom viewing party" as an opportunity to entertain his supporters with public funds.

In this regard, a voice in the Liberal Democratic Party pointed out that "this is a symbol of extravagance and injustice brought about by its long-term rule."

Leader of the largest faction in Japan's Liberal Democratic Party

　　Shinzo Abe belongs to the "Hosoda faction" of the Liberal Democratic Party, which is the largest faction within the Liberal Democratic Party.

Shinzo Abe did not return to the faction after stepping down as prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party in September 2020, but his influence within the faction cannot be ignored.

In November 2021, Abe rejoined the faction, and the general name of the faction was also changed from "Hosoda faction" to "Abe faction", with Shinzo Abe serving as chairman.

　　After resigning as prime minister, Shinzo Abe continues to influence the direction of Japanese politics by virtue of his unique power within the Liberal Democratic Party.

Yoshihide Suga, who took over as prime minister, implemented Shinzo Abe’s domestic and foreign policies; Fumio Kishida, who became prime minister last year, also got Abe’s help in his victory in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.

Most of the key positions in Kishida's cabinet are occupied by major factions of the Liberal Democratic Party such as the Abe faction and the Aso faction.

　　In addition, Shinzo Abe has also served as a consultant to a number of groups, including the conservative group "Tradition and Creation Club", the top consultant of the Liberal Democratic Party's Constitutional Amendment Promotion Headquarters, etc., and holds important positions within the Liberal Democratic Party.

(Finish)