"His young, fresh image and telegenic appearance swept Shinzo Abe to power in late September 2006, replacing his flamboyant predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Unlike Koizumi, whose combative style earned him the nicknames of “Lion heart” and “Maverick” and helped him keep high popularity, Abe never roars, putting on a stiff upper lip. But Abe’s soft-spokenness largely masks, at least in the eyes of many Japanese, the fact that he is a die-hard ultraconservative, nationalist and hawk in his own right. Abe is to visit Washington in late April, his first visit since taking office. North Korea and Iraq are expected to top the agenda for talks between Abe and President George W Bush.""

When the Year of the Boar began, political attention in Japan was focused on whether new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would be able to consolidate his grip on power in an election year and begin to charge ahead towards achieving his longer-term, arduous agenda. As things stand now, however, Abe appears more likely to fail to do so.

Abe, who took office in late September 2006, will face his first major electoral challenge this summer, when a triennial Upper House election will be held. Whether he can lead his ruling coalition to a victory in the polls - a mission far from a cakewalk, if not impossible - may determine his political fortunes.

Topping his long term agenda are revision of the post-war pacifist constitution and a hike in the broadly levied consumption tax, both of which are highly divisive and potentially explosive issues for the Prime Minister.

Abe has declared that he will make constitutional amendments the key issue in the upcoming election for the House of Councillors, the upper house of the Diet (parliament). The current 150-day ordinary Diet session ends in June, after which the Diet members will adjourn to campaign for the upper house election in July.

Abe, 52, is the youngest post-war Japanese premier and the first premier to have been born after the war. His rise to the top government post marked a turning point for Japanese politics.

Naming his new administration the "nation-building cabinet", Abe has said he wants Japan to revive family values, be proud of its identity, and display leadership in international affairs. He has advocated a more assertive foreign policy and called for a "departure from the post-war regime" by revising the pacifist constitution, among other things. The constitutional revision would allow the country to take a higher profile militarily on the global stage.

His young, fresh image and telegenic appearance swept Abe to power in late September 2006, replacing his flamboyant predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Unlike Koizumi, whose combative style earned him the nicknames of “Lion heart” and “Maverick” and helped him keep high popularity, Abe never roars, putting on a stiff upper lip. But Abe’s soft-spokenness largely masks, at least in the eyes of many Japanese, the fact that he is a die-hard ultraconservative, nationalist and hawk in his own right.

There is a growing discontent among many conservatives, however, that Abe has changed his coat since taking office. Abe is widely known for his nationalist views on history and hawkish stance toward such countries as China. But in a concerted attempt to repair damaged relations with China and South Korea, Abe has either toned down or even reversed his previous rhetoric, at least in public. Immediately after being elected Japan’s leader, Abe made an unusual, whirlwind fence-mending tour of Beijing and Seoul. ...more