As Japan reels: examining Shinzo Abe’s legacy & Japan’s future with his friend and adviser

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

GZERO Media

Politics, News, Foreign Policy, News Commentary, Government, Geopolitics, International Relations, Ian Bremmer, Trump, Global Economy, Gzero World

4.7 • 830 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2022

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Japan is reeling from the shocking assassination of Shinzo Abe, Japan's former and longest-serving prime minister. On the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer speaks to longtime Abe adviser Tomohiko Taniguchi, who discusses the impact of Abe's legacy on the country and the broader region. Will Abe's unfulfilled dream of amending Japan's postwar pacifist constitution now be realized? On a personal level, Taniguchi also shares how he felt when he found out his close friend had died, and how Abe's untimely death might ultimately change Japan. He also weighs in on whether current PM Fumio Kishida can pick up where his old boss left off.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was working at home and my wife screamed and yelled,
0:07.0	Abe just got shot.
0:10.0	Of course I could not believe who could believe such a thing.
0:15.0	And then came a piece of news that no vital sign could be detected.
0:21.6	So I prayed and prayed and prayed.
0:24.5	I think the nation also did the same.
0:30.3	Hello and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.
0:34.0	This is where you'll find extended versions of my interviews on public television.
0:38.4	I'm Ian Bremmer, and on today's show, The World Reels from news that a man with a homemade gun has assassinated Japan's former Prime Minister Shenzhou Abe.
0:48.9	He's the country's longest-serving Prime Minister in history, and it happened in broad daylight.
0:56.3	Gun deaths in Japan aren't just rare. They're nearly unheard of. According to Japan's national police agency, in all of 2021,
1:02.9	just one person was killed by gun violence in Japan. There were 45,000 and 35,000 in 35 U.S. firearm deaths that same year.
1:12.6	Just days after Abe's murder, Japan's ruling party and its coalition made strong gains in a key parliamentary election,
1:19.6	helped by an outpouring of sympathy for the late former Prime Minister.
1:24.6	What will be Abe's legacy and what's in store for Japanese politics
1:29.7	and for the country's geopolitical ambitions in the region?
1:33.3	I'm discussing all that and more
1:34.9	with a man who knew Abe very well,
1:38.1	former special advisor to the Prime Minister,
1:40.8	Tamahiko Tanaguchi.
1:42.5	He joins me from Tokyo.
1:49.9	Music Prime Minister, Tomahiko Tanaguchi. He joins me from Tokyo. The GZero World podcast is brought to you by our founding sponsor, First Republic.
	...

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