
Bima Prawira Utama
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Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s first visit to Japan after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was marked by a statement from Joko Widodo himself. The president said, “Abe was an important leader who brought the strategic partnership between Indonesia and Japan into existence.” This might succinctly sum up how Abe improved Japanese-Indonesian relations during his time in office. While acting as prime minister, Indonesia and Japan strengthened their cooperation in various fields such as economic development, [...]
David M. Malitz
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In Thailand, flags were flown half-staff following the murder of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The Thai prime minister, General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, who first came to the premiership after his coup in 2014, also posted a condolence message on his Facebook page. It referred to Abe as “Japan’s favorite son” who had made “his beloved Japan and the world a better place”. And despite the tilt of his government towards the People’s Republic of China (PRC), he also referred to Abe as a “great friend”. But General Prayuth was [...]
Karl Ian Cheng Chua
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While formally announcing the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to the world, Shinzo Abe might be remembered as the “cool” Japanese Prime Minister who cosplayed as Super Mario during the closing of the Rio Olympics on 22 August 2016. Some years later a more harrowing scene would play out on TV. The Philippines, along with the world, watched in horror the footage of his shooting which took place at a political event in Nara City, Japan on 8 July 2022. Tetsuya Yamagami, shot the former prime minister using an homemade firearm. The incident was a tragic end to Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister. There is no question of the influence [...]
Hoang Minh Hang
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Despite long historical trade relations between the two countries, it was only on September 21st, 1973 when Vietnam and Japan officially established diplomatic relations. More recently, since the beginning of the 21st century the relationship between the two countries has developed impressively. This achievement is down to the efforts of both countries, but the significant contributions of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in building strong ties cannot be ignored. Under the Abe administration, [...]