Opinion of Shinzo Abe

[H. Ross Peron]

I realize I will get a lot of flack for this but I'm impelled to vote FF on the basis of Abe's policies even though as an ethnic Korean I detest his apologism for war crimes by Japan in World War II. For example, Abenomics in it's focus on stimulus and economic growth is something Japan needs and is in many ways a refreshing alternative to the austerianism that prevails in much of the developed world, even if it doesn't go far enough imo and included absolutely moronic elements such as a VAT hike. Similarly, since I believe nuclear energy is absolutely necessary is moving away from fossil fuels and combating global warming I find Abe's decision to retain nuclear energy despite the Fukushima incident even as wholly unaffected countries such as Germany scrambled to abandon it both correct and courageous. While I'm much more of a liberal internationalist then the Donald, I do think American allies need to take more of the burden of defence and thus welcome Abe's efforts for Japan to take an active role in the Pacific region. Considering that Germany at this point has deployed Bundeswehr troops to the Balkans and Afghanistan, I don't see why Japan shouldn't similarly have a "normalized" constitution that allows it to maintain armed forces, send troops abroad, and wage war if necessary especially when it will benefit American interests in East Asia by providing a strong counterweight to growing Chinese power. Actually, this provides a pragmatic reason why Abe ought to stop his rhetoric of historical revisionism since it stops any desultory attempts by the Republic of Korea to get closer to China and instead solidifies the emerging ring of states in Asia including Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, and India to balance the growth of Chinese power.