Forget Abenomics. Ignore Shinzo Abe's efforts to rejuvenate Japan's diplomatic and military clout. Look past the quest to rewrite the Constitution. History will judge this prime minister by one thing alone: what he did, or didn't do, to end the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
It's mind-boggling how disengaged Japan's leaders have been since their "BP moment" — the March 2011 near-meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Abe's predecessors Naoto Kan and Yoshihiko Noda virtually ignored the radiation leaks and spent fuel rods sitting 217 km from Tokyo.
In December, Abe became the third prime minister to pretend all was well at Fukushima after a devastating earthquake and tsunami that flooded the plant.