Abe Shinzo was born in Tokyo on September 21, 1954, into a family with political traditions. His maternal grandfather is Nobusuke Kishi, who served as Japanese Prime Minister from 1957-1960. His father is Shintaro Abe, who served as Japan's Foreign Minister from 1982 to 1986.
After graduating from Seikei University in Tokyo in July 1977, Abe worked for Kobe Steel Group (KOBELCO) before he was recruited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1982. He married Akie Matsuzaki in 1987.
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Abe Shinzo and his wife during their marriage ceremony in Tokyo in 1987. Standing next to them are former Japanese PM Takeo Fukuda and his wife. (Photo: Kyodo/AP)
Abe officially entered Japanese politics when he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993. After being elected, he and several other Japanese parliamentarians visited Vietnam.
Abe has held many important positions in the Government and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), including Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary from 2000-2002, Secretary-General of the LDP in 2003 and Chief Cabinet Secretary in 2005.
In September 2006, he was elected President of the LDP and became the 90th Prime Minister of Japan. He was only 52 years old at the time, thus becoming Japan's youngest post-war prime minister.
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Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo poses with his Cabinet members at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on September 26, 2006. (Photo: AP)
In his first stint as government leader, Abe initiated the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue involving four countries: Australia, India, Japan and the US. However, he resigned as Prime Minister due to health reasons in September 2007.
In September 2012, Abe returned to the position of head of the LDP following the election of the party's president. In December that year, he led the LDP to a landslide victory in the election for parliament’s lower house. On December 26, 2012, he was officially appointed as Prime Minister after a parliament vote.
Shortly after returning to power, Abe chose Vietnam as his destination during his first overseas trip as Prime Minister in January 2013. After that, he also paid two additional visits to Vietnam in his capacity.
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Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong receives Prime Minister Abe Shinzo during his official visit to Vietnam on January 16, 2013. (Photo: VNA)
November 20 in 2019 marked the 2,887th working day of Abe Shinzo as the Government’s leader. He had become Japan’s longest-serving Prime Minister.
The highlight during this period of serving as Prime Minister was the new economic policy package called Abenomics. Even if he ceased to hold the position of Prime Minister, his two successors Suga Yoshihide and Kishida Fumio still inherited and implemented many contents of Abenomics.
This is a set of monetary, financial, and structural reforms aimed towards boosting growth and bringing Japan out of decades of deflation. The implementation of Abenomics helped lift the world's third-largest economy out of a deflationary spiral, sent unemployment at a 26-year low and created the second-longest period of continuous growth in post-war history of Japan with 71 consecutive months of growth.
In August 2020, Abe once again announced his resignation as Prime Minister due to health reasons. However, after leaving office, he maintained active participation in political activities. On November 11, 2021, he became the leader of the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai - the largest faction of the LDP.
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Abe Shinzo campaigns for a candidate of the LDP in Nara before being shot on July 8, 2022. (Photo: Asahi Shimbun)
Abe was shot from behind at 11:30am on July 8, 2022 (local time) while campaigning for an LDP candidate ahead of elections to the upper house in Nara province. Nara Medical University Hospital confirmed Abe Shinzo had passed away at 5:03pm on the same day.
Abe Shinzo's sudden departure has left boundless grief in the hearts of the Japanese people and the world.
