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Tokyo 2020's Hashimoto rules out Games postponement -report The president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee ruled out a cancellation or another postponement of the Olympic Games in an interview with Nikkan Sports newspaper, amid concerns about hosting the event during a global pandemic. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/tokyo-2020-s-hashimoto-rules-out-games-postponement--report-14937370

Wow! Nabe…I mean Abe kena shot…jippun so easy to get gun meh?🤔

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Shinzo-Abe/Japan-to-bar-Putin-from-attending-Shinzo-Abe-state-funeral?utm_campaign=GL_JP_update&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=4&pub_date=20220723090000&seq_num=8&si=44594 Japan to bar Putin from attending Shinzo Abe state funeral Tokyo to convey schedule to Taiwan and others that sent condolences Russian President Vladimir Putin called former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an "outstanding statesman" in a condolence message. © Reuters Nikkei staff writersJuly 22, 2022 23:37 JST TOKYO -- The Japanese government is expected to refuse Russian President Vladimir Putin as a guest at the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this fall should he desire to attend, Nikkei has learned. The Russian leader is subject to a de facto entry ban imposed in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Putin sent a condolence message after Abe was killed on July 8, calling him an "outstanding statesman" who "accomplished a lot towards the development of good relations between our countries." It is unclear whether Putin has expressed a desire to attend the state funeral, which is reportedly planned for Sept. 27 at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. Abe and Putin held multiple summits during the Japanese leader's tenure. Abe had made it a diplomatic priority to try to resolve a decades-old deadlock over northern islands that has stood in the way of a formal World War II peace treaty between the two countries. Separately, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Friday that Japan will inform Taiwan about the time and location of the event. The schedule will be conveyed to the countries with which Japan has diplomatic ties, as well as international organizations and regions, like Taiwan, that sent condolences. Taiwanese Vice President William Lai traveled to Japan last week to attend a private funeral for Abe. Japan's Foreign Ministry said this was a "personal visit as a private individual."

Yoshihide Suga wins key party vote, will likely replace Abe as Japan's prime minister source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/09/14/japan-prime-minister-yoshihide-suga-wins-party-vote-replace-abe/5790114002/ TOKYO – Yoshihide Suga was elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party on Monday, virtually guaranteeing him parliamentary election as the country’s next prime minister. Suga received 377 votes in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party election to pick a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced last month that he would resign due to health problems. The other two contenders received a combined 157 votes –former Foreign minister Fumio Kishida got 89 and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba had 68. The expected victory in the party vote by Suga, currently the chief Cabinet secretary of Abe’s government, all but guarantees his election in a parliamentary vote Wednesday because of the majority held by the Liberal Democrats’ ruling coalition. Suga gained the support of party heavyweights and their wing members early in the campaign on expectations that he would continue Abe’s policies. That his victory appeared to be a done deal has raised criticism from inside and outside the party that the process is undemocratic and murky. The closed-door politics also apparently led lawmakers to support Suga in hopes of getting favorable party and Cabinet posts in the new administration. Suga has said his top priorities are fighting the coronavirus and turning around an economy battered by the pandemic. He repeatedly has noted achievements under the Abe-led government when asked about various policies. Despite his low-key image as Abe’s right-hand man, Suga is actually known for his iron-fist approach to getting jobs done as a policy coordinator and influencing bureaucrats by using the centralized power of the prime minister’s office. Suga says that he is a reformist and that he has worked to achieve policies by breaking territorial barriers of bureaucracy. He has credited himself for those efforts in achieving a booming foreign tourism industry in Japan, lowering cellphone bills and bolstering agricultural exports. Compared to his political skills at home, Suga has hardly traveled overseas, and his diplomatic skills are unknown, though he is largely expected to pursue Abe’s priorities. In addition to the coronavirus and the economic fallout, Suga stands to inherit several other challenges, including China, which continues its assertive actions in the East China Sea. He also will have to decide what to do with the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to next summer due to the coronavirus. And he will have to establish a good relationship with whoever wins the U.S. presidential race.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3099224/japanese-pm-shinzo-abe-poised-resign-over-health-concerns-local Japanese PM Shinzo Abe poised to resign over health concerns, local media reports - Questions about Abe’s health have been swirling since he made a previously unannounced visit to hospital for medical checks on August 17 - Abe, 65, ended his first term as prime minister after just a year in the job, in part due to crippling health problems Reuters Published: 1:26pm, 28 Aug, 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Photo: Kyodo Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to resign, national broadcaster NHK reported on Friday, adding that he wanted to avoid causing problems to government due to a worsening of his chronic health condition. Speculation about Abe’s health and tenure had risen after he made two visits to a hospital recently. He has battled the chronic disease ulcerative colitis for years. Questions about Abe’s health have been swirling since he made a previously unannounced visit to hospital for medical checks on August 17, and then returned for further checks a week later, on Monday. Abe, 65, ended his first term as prime minister after just a year in the job, in part due to crippling health problems. Even before the recent hospital visits, there had been reports claiming the prime minister was vomiting blood, as well as questions over his limited public appearances and decision to avoid holding a press conference to address criticism of his handling of the coronavirus.

Japan PM Abe says postponing Tokyo Olympics an option source: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-pm-abe-says-postponing-tokyo-olympics-an-option TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday (March 23) that postponing the Tokyo Olympic Games may become an option if holding the event in "complete form" became impossible. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Sunday after an emergency meeting that it is stepping up its “scenario planning” for the Tokyo 2020 Games – including a possible postponement – as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. Mr Abe said the IOC decision on Sunday was in line with the view that the Tokyo Games should be held in its complete form. “If that becomes difficult, we may have no option but to consider postponing the Games” given the Olympics’ principle of putting the health of athletes first, he told parliament. Mr Abe also said cancelling the Games was not an option. He said he had conveyed his views about the fate of the Olympics to Tokyo Games chief Yoshiro Mori on Sunday evening, who then discussed the issue with IOC President Thomas Bach.

Shinjuku self-immolation act protests Abe’s democracy hijack http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2014/07/05/commentary/shinjuku-self-immolation-act-protests-abes-democracy-hijack/#.U7ouyfmSxKJ Abe is like a thief in the night sneaking in the back door to steal the heart and soul of Japan’s pacifist Constitution, and this is what angers people. The absence of any substantive public consultation and the failure to pursue revision through the front door by securing Diet approval and holding a public referendum — procedures laid out in the Constitution — raises serious questions about Abe’s commitment to democratic principles and the sugarcoated militarism he touts as “proactive pacifism.” LKY once said that "The Japanese are also peerless in the way they strive for perfection in everything they do." and that rearming Japan "is like giving chocolate liqueur to an alcoholic", as in it will want more and more arms.