Though the international media has coined him "Japan's youngest post-war premier" and the first to be born after 1945, some are still wondering who Abe really is and how his leadership can change the face of Japan and the rest of Asia.

Abe was born on September 21, 1954. He graduated in 1977 from the political science department of the Faculty of Law at Seikei University in Tokyo. Abe married Akie, daughter of a former president of one of Japan's leading confectioners, Morinaga and Co. They have no children.

His father was Shintaro Abe, LDP's secretary-general and foreign minister who failed to achieve his ambition of becoming prime minister. Abe's maternal grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was arrested as a Class-A war criminal after World War II for his leadership role in Japan's wartime government before being rehabilitated. Kishi then served as a staunchly pro-US prime minister from 1957 to 1960.

Abe began his career at Kobe Steel Limited in 1979. In 1982, he left the private sector and became executive assistant to the foreign minister. Eleven years later, Abe was elected to the House of Representatives and dubbed the "Prince of Politics" by the Japanese media. From 1999 to last year, Abe rose from the position of director of the House of Representative's Committee on Health and Welfare, to deputy chief cabinet secretary under prime ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi, and recently, chief cabinet secretary.

The prime minister-in-waiting is popular with Japanese women from whom he has garnered votes in his constituency of Yamakuchi. Representing the younger generation of the Japanese elite, Abe seems a thoroughly modern politician - acutely conscious of the power of TV cameras and aware of the need to woo voters with a well-crafted image.

But for all the contemporary gloss and progressive exterior, Abe possesses a deeply conservative heritage influenced by his family's past. His conservative tint will undoubtedly play a quintessential role in the shaping of domestic and foreign policies of the new government - but will this be for better or worse?

First, Abe has designs for a stronger Japan and pledged to pursue a more active diplomacy. "I want to create a new diplomacy under which Japan at times takes leadership and asserts opinion to set the world's rules," he said. Along this line, Abe supports Japan's permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC). He is also seen to promote greater freedom for the military, and in the meantime, distancing Japan from war guilt left over from World War II and encouraging patriotic education.

Second, Abe has portrayed himself as an adamant leader while carefully signalling his craving for a stronger role for the prime minister. Evidently, Abe has proposed the creation of Japanese versions of the US Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council, which would report directly to the prime minister's office.

Third, Abe has made revision of the US-drafted 1947 pacifist constitution a linchpin of his policy. Following in the footsteps of Koizumi, Abe sees that amendment of the constitution would allow the Japanese military to participate in more peacekeeping missions and work more closely with the United States.

With the shifting of the international environment, Abe feels the post-war constitution that has limited Japan's military to home defence objectives is no longer adequate to cope with emerging security issues in the 21st century. In fact, Japan lays out about US$45 billion (Bt1.6 trillion) on military spending per year. "From a standpoint of emerging from the post-war regime, I want to show leadership on a new constitution," Abe asserted.

Fourth, he aims to make the Japanese economy more international in character. In doing so, Abe has backed continuing Koizumi's market reforms and reining in public spending. He hopes to transform Japan to be more open and to stimulate foreign direct investment (FDI). It is likely that he will introduce a new set of measures to increase FDI by two to three times the current level. The big question is whether Abe can reduce a growing disparity between richer and poorer regions.

Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, Abe has called for repairing ailing relations with China and South Korea although he remains unapologetic about Japan's World War II past.

He defended visits to the Yasukuni Shrine but refused to confirm reports that he had made a secret pilgrimage there early this year. Abe insisted that such visits were a matter of individual conviction and that he would "continue to hold his hands together" for the dead.

So far, Abe's sentiment of national pride has been very strongly pronounced. He is reluctant to blame wartime leaders, which of course include his grandfather, for the war and the devastation it wreaked in Asia. Abe is therefore being perceived by China and South Korea as an even more die-hard nationalist than the outgoing premier. On top of this, Abe has his own reason to play the nationalism card in order to boost his influence domestically.

His nationalistic thrust has also been apparent in the event of North Korea launching seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, after which Abe pushed for economic sanctions and a UNSC resolution criticising the Pyongyang regime.

Finally, also reflecting his grandfather's past, Abe intends to solidify military and diplomatic cooperation with Washington, redesigning it to become more equal based on mutual interests and sharing responsibilities.

Abe, the scion of a political dynasty, is en route to be Japan's youngest leader, no matter how his political thoughts have been depicted. His moulding of a stronger Japan will have a powerful effect on Asia and the world, hopefully for the better.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun is an independent writer based in Singapore.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Special to The Nation

SINGAPORE