PM Abe has wide achievements on the domestic front, many already cited in this thread. The two I consider most significant have been overlooked. (Maybe Stockholm is too far away?)

Abe needed to manage many aftershocks to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster. Abe followed the lead of his predecessors, Prime Ministers Kan & Noda, in not strongly condemning TEPCO for design faults, poor emergency response, efforts to cover-up meltdown, and (arguably) criminal liability. The Diet's NAIIC report (National Diet of Japan Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission) criticized the utility (TEPCO), regulators and the Japanese government as responsible for "a profoundly man-made disaster -- that could and should have been foreseen and prevented." What of the aftermath - are survivors adequately protected and compensated? Is pollution continuing? Who should pay for cleanup? Those decision points tapped huge public funding rather than maximally squeezing TEPCO for reparations and as punishment.

Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant was closer to the earthquake epicenter than Fukushima Daiichi but shutdown successfully. It's an inconvenient technological success story. We hear little of their success because it doesn't fit the narrative of inescapable "unpredictable" damage and the huge infusion of public funds. Largely projecting a "business as usual" image, boldfaced Abe smiled through unbreachable contradictions such that the government (via CNN marketing) now invites the world to "Find Your Japan" - boasting of Japanese technology and quality management. Consider also the Ghosn debacle - yet (if you believe Abe) All is Normal?

Another significant act by the Abe government was creation of the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs (内閣人事局). The Japan Times explained that until 2014, top ministry officials recommended most high-level bureaucratic appointments. Now the Prime Minister & aides can directly screen & appoint the top 600 bureaucrats. Is the powerful civil servant class becoming more obedient to lawmakers, or increasingly catering to political interests? Corrupt facets of the Moritomo Gakuen scandal are very disturbing.

Cheers Peter!

Bruce

Bruce Henry Lambert
Localversity
Stockholm, Sweden


On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 6:45 AM SSJ-Forum Moderator <ssjmod@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp> wrote:

From: Peter Cave <Peter.Cave@manchester.ac.uk>

Date: 2020/08/28


Dear Forum members

With PM Abe's announcement that he is stepping down, I would be
interested to know what you consider to be his most consequential
actions in domestic policy, excluding the actions to boost inflation and
lower the value of the yen. I deliberately limit the question to
domestic policy, and I exclude those particular actions, because I
suspect that many might agree about their importance.

There are various opinions about Abe, and he raises quite strong
passions. However, given that he has enjoyed perhaps the most commanding
parliamentary majority in the democratic world during his
record-breaking tenure, my personal impression is that he has done
remarkably little with it on the domestic front. I can't help feeling
that almost any other leader of a comparable country, in a comparable
position, would have done far more. You may agree or disagree about this
- I look forward to hearing. But if it is a correct view, the question
then arises, why? Various reasons could be imagined. For example, it
could be argued that Abe was weaker than he appeared, and so could not
do things he really wanted to do, because of divisions within the LDP,
and the LDP's need for the alliance with Komeito. It could also be
argued that Abe (and the LDP as a whole) is actually relatively content
with the state of Japan, and so did not see the need for radical
measures (this would not be surprising given that the LDP has been in
power for the vast majority of the last 65 years, and thus has played an
enormous role in shaping Japan as it is today).

I look forward to hearing the views of Forum members.

Peter

Peter Cave
Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies
SALC, University of Manchester