Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE
Kevin Rafferty
Opinion

Opinion

Kevin Rafferty

Shinzo Abe’s legacy: a stagnant economy, loyalty to Donald Trump, deepening rivalries with China and the two Koreas – and the longest tenure as PM

  • Shinzo Abe has failed to resolve old grievances or revitalise the economy ahead of the coming population crunch. His dream of a constitutional revision is also a long shot, yet he has served longer than any PM in Japan’s history

Kevin Rafferty
Kevin Rafferty

Updated: 6:17am, 21 Nov, 2019

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Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during the Asean-Japan summit in Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, near Bangkok, on November 4. Photo: EPA-EFE
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Kevin Rafferty

Kevin Rafferty

Kevin Rafferty, a journalist for 50 years, started writing about cricket and football for The Observer when at Oxford University. He joined the foreign staff of the Financial Times, was in charge of the FT’s Asian coverage, and opened the paper’s first Hong Kong office. He has lived and worked in Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka, and Washington, and edited daily papers in 30 major cities during IMF and multilateral development bank meetings. He was professor in the Institute for Academic Initiatives at Osaka University.