Shinzo Abe is Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. His place in the history books is assured. But what about his legacy? That’s a more controversial question and the subject of “The Iconoclast” by Tobias Harris. A senior vice president at Teneo Intelligence in Washington, D.C., Harris is an expert on Japanese politics and a gifted storyteller. “The Iconoclast” is a definitive, must-read biography of Abe, and will be the standard English-language work on his life and times for years to come.
In this broad, sweeping narrative, Harris explores the impact Abe's grandfather, Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, had on the development of his political philosophy, one that is focused on the idea of a militarily powerful, independent, less apologetic nation centered around the imperial household.
When Abe first became prime minister in 2006, he was the leader of a postwar generation of conservative Liberal Democratic Party members who wanted a strong military alliance with the United States, but had revisionist historical views that created anger and tensions with China and South Korea. He also held conservative, right-wing views of Japanese society that fueled anger and concerns among many members of the public.