Japan should stay true to Abe Shinzo’s vision—up to a point
Kishida Fumio, the prime minister, should follow Mr Abe’s pragmatism, not his nationalism
Max weber spoke of the contrast between politicians wedded to moral purity and their pragmatic peers. Abe Shinzo, Japan’s prime minister from 2006-07 and 2012-20, was a keen reader of Weber. The tension between the competing ethics of conviction and responsibility defined his own life, which an assassin’s gun cut short on July 8th.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “After Abe”
Leaders July 16th 2022
- Europe’s winter of discontent
- The Democrats need to wake up and stop pandering to their extremes
- Japan should stay true to Abe Shinzo’s vision—up to a point
- Britain’s Conservatives seem oblivious to the coming budget crunch
- What to do now about tomorrow’s code-cracking computers
- The Catholic Church should scrap the requirement for priestly celibacy
From the July 16th 2022 edition
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