Abe doubles down on Kim, but will his snap election gamble pay off?

With North Korean missiles flying overhead, voters may have bigger concerns than a stagnant economy and kindergarten shortages

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP

Published: 10:15am, 1 Oct 2017Updated: 10:28am, 1 Oct 2017

Love him or loathe him, there is no denying that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a consummate politician who has sensed that public sentiment is sufficiently with him that he will once again win a general election.

And while the electorate may express concern about a stagnant economy, shortages of places at kindergartens or any number of quibbles about everyday life, there is one issue that largely binds Japan’s voters together.

Abe will fend off all-comers at the general election on October 22 because the average Japanese is genuinely fearful of an unpredictable but increasingly belligerent North Korea. Extensive media coverage – often more than a little alarmist – has convinced the public that Abe is the only political leader sufficiently resolute and experienced to handle a regime that has nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and – possibly – the will to use them.

North Korea tests an intermediate range Hwasong-12 rocket. Photo: AP

Inevitably, there are also implications for Japan’s relationship with China going forward, although it is considered likely that while Beijing is no fan of many of Abe’s hawkish tendencies, the Chinese government favours a steady hand on the tiller in administrations in the region in a time of crisis rather than upheaval and additional uncertainty.

“It is largely thanks to North Korea that Abe is doing so well at the moment,” said Steven Reed, a professor at Chuo University who specialises in Japanese political parties and elections.

“At a time of military and diplomatic difficulties, people want stability and someone they can rely on,” he said. “Abe is the only political leader in Japan who has that experience and the public here is not willing to put its collective future in the hands of someone who is untested.”