Book review | The Importance of Shinzo Abe: India, Japan, and the Indo-Pacific

If there is any Japanese prime minister that an ordinary Indian would vividly remember, then he would be Shinzo Abe. Dressed in a black Kurta and wearing a cream-coloured Nehru jacket, as a common Indian would know, he attended the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi. Later, he and his wife visited Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad and spent an hour roaming with PM Modi. For Abe, PM Modi was a friend, and PM Manmohan Singh was a mentor, as he would call it. Abe was the longest-serving prime minister that the land of the rising Sun had seen. During Abe’s tenure, Tokyo and New Delhi increased their trade, technology, and traditions proximity. He envisioned the Indo-Pacific region and the now-famous Quad organisation in his famous speech on the ‘Confluence of Two Seas’ to the Indian parliament in 2007. From government-to-government to business-to-business relations, he took every step to bring India and Japan closer. To quote him, ‘a strong, prosperous, and dynamic India’ was ‘in the interest of Japan’ and similarly, ‘a strong, prosperous, and dynamic Japan’ was ‘in the interest of India.’ On the domestic front, Abenomics and its three arrows – aggressive monetary policy, fiscal consolidation, and growth strategy – did well for the Far-East nation. Article 9 of Japan’s constitution mandates that the country can’t initiate a war, though it can defend itself. The US’ military assets, put to protect Japan and Taiwan, in the ocean could have been damaged by the common adversary, and still, Japan’s SDF (Self-Defence Force) would have been unable to protect them. Abe gave importance to national security and passed a critical act to safeguard the military assets of the US to make his country secure. Aptly, Abe ‘was a systems manager who understood that economy, diplomacy, and security are inseparable,’ his special advisor and a well-known journalist Tomohiko Taniguchi writes in his essay for the latest book on Shinzo Abe. The book, The Importance of Shinzo Abe: India, Japan, and the Indo-Pacific, is a collection of 16 essays dedicated to Abe’s life and his contributions to various domains of politics, diplomacy, economics, and security. The authors of some of these essays have worked closely with Abe on the domestic issues, Indo-Japan ties, and the Indo-Pacific region, making this combination the main strength of this book. The essays are divided in three parts: The first focuses on the domestic policies of Abe; the second on Indo-Japan ties; the third on the Indo-pacific region. [caption id=“attachment_13350702” align=“alignnone” width=“630”] ‘The Importance of Shinzo Abe: India, Japan and the Indo-Pacific,’ edited by Sanjaya Baru[/caption] “… Abe’s mission was to get Japan ready for an uncertain, volatile, and different world,’ as S Jaishankar, India’s Minister of External Affairs, wonderfully wrote in the foreword of this work, but ‘he left before he could accomplish these goals in substantial measure.” It can’t be more accurate. Abe was a master-strategist who could strike a deal with the Russian president Vladimir Putin so that the SDF can focus on the south of Japan, particularly the Okinawa islands, without irking the US. After Abe’s passing away, Japan’s relations with Russia soured. Not just from a security perspective, Abe was equally worried about the dragon due to increasing trade, and in this predicament, India seemed a natural choice to him as an alternative. One of the most striking aspects of this book is the depth of insight provided into Abe’s leadership style and the core principles that guided his decision-making. The essays written by Tomohiko Taniguchi, Heizo Takenaka, and Sanjaya Baru throw a close light on how Abe thought and worked. Though the book is insightful, it may be considered somewhat specialised and many centre-points in the different essays are indistinguishable. Having said that, for those with a keen interest in the subject matter, this book is an invaluable resource. It offers a detailed and thought-provoking analysis of Shinzo Abe’s leadership and its impact on Japan and the world, particularly India. This book is a must-read for scholars, policymakers, and anyone interested in the intricate interplay between leadership and geopolitics in the contemporary world. The reviewer is an independent columnist who writes on international relations, and socio-political affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.