<figure id="attachment_253856" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-253856"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="257affae"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/07/e42fcda90b5ea862c59767252a0de2af.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-253856" class="wp-caption-text">When he was Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, he met with the late Kim Jong Il in North Korea. In an exclusive interview with this magazine, he discussed the abduction issue.</figcaption></figure>
<h2>The &#8220;Abe victory&#8221; spiral</h2>
<p>I want to be a fighting politician. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed this view of politics at every opportunity. He was in office for 3,188 days, making him the longest-serving prime minister in the history of constitutional government. He implemented Abenomics and aggressive diplomacy with the U.S. and Russia, creating an era of &#8220;Abe alone.</p>
<p><strong> He has been in power for 3188 days, the longest period in the history of constitutional government. He was intolerant of dissent, and the newspapers were divided on whether they supported or disapproved of him. There has never been a prime minister like him before,&#8221; said political analyst Atsuo Ito.</strong></p>
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<p>However, it is also true that a number of &#8220;suspicions&#8221; have arisen and frayed nerves have appeared in the administration. These include the problems surrounding Moritomo Gakuen, Kakei Gakuen, and the Cherry Blossom Viewing Party, which have been dubbed the &#8220;morikake sakura.</p>
<p><strong> These allegations are the result of the arrogance of the Abe administration, which has been in power for a long period of time,&#8221; said Mr. Kikuchi. In the case of the Moritomo affair, the &#8220;discovery&#8221; of the former Prime Minister Abe led the Ministry of Finance officials to falsify official documents, and Toshio Akagi of the Kinki Finance Bureau, who was instructed to do so, took his own life. The truth has never been revealed, and furthermore, Prime Ministers Kan and Kishida continue to refuse to reopen the investigation, saying that the matter has been &#8216;resolved&#8217;. Mr. Abe&#8217;s death was a shock, but that does not mean we should let it fade away,&#8221; Ito said.</strong></p>
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<p>Now that former Prime Minister Abe has not returned home, the chances of these allegations being scrutinized again in the Diet or in court are slim to none. Lawyer Nobuo Gohara points out that another problem is the public&#8217;s indifference to politics that has resulted from the numerous allegations.</p>
<p><strong> The opposition parties and the media were superficial in their pursuit of the case, and the Abe administration&#8217;s response was that there was no problem in terms of compliance with the law,&#8221; he said, &#8220;so sterile discussions continued. This led to distrust of the administration and disappointment in the opposition, resulting in a decline in voter turnout and the formation of a spiral of &#8220;Abe&#8217;s overwhelming victory.</strong></p>
<p>The shadow that former Prime Minister Abe has cast over this country will continue to linger.</p>
<figure id="attachment_253859" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2000px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-253859"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="287daba4"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/07/3cabe668a758e5d2206a5f7ad3395fdf.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-253859" class="wp-caption-text">Former Prime Minister Abe jogging around Yoyogi Park in February 2001, his second time in office, and showing off his health to all quarters.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_253857" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1963px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-253857"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="541348df"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/07/dd2cfd251e5940bdfa20dde75902be43.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-253857" class="wp-caption-text">He and his wife Akie wed in 1987. Former Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda served as pallbearer, and Yoko Oginome (center) attended as a guest.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_253858" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-253858"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d3053221"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/07/51deb6cd1f0acc186d52ba44a3bb2122.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-253858" class="wp-caption-text">Former Director-General of the Financial Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, Nobutoshi Sagawa, gives an answer at a Foreign Affairs Committee meeting of the House of Representatives on March 17, &#8217;17. To his left is former Prime Minister Abe, who is slumped over and covering his face.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_253855" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2500px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-253855"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="0801cb6c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/07/a72040dda0b8412a41c62ecb2507d759.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-253855" class="wp-caption-text">Former Prime Minister Abe and his wife Akie at a birthday party for his mother Yoko in June 2006. He was on the verge of being elected to the third term of the Diet after his pursuit of the &#8220;morikake&#8221; issue had peaked.</figcaption></figure>
<p>From the July 29 and August 5, 2022 issues of FRIDAY</p>


 Takehiko Kohiyama (1st photo) Ippei Hara (jogging) Takeshi Kinugawa (former Finance Bureau Director Sagawa) Hiroyuki Komatsu (birthday party) Hisayuki Semba (wedding)

 Former Prime Minister Abe created the era of "Abe alone" and established the longest administration in the history of constitutional government. While the nation grieves over his death by bullet, will the problems surrounding Moritomo Gakuen, Kakei Gakuen, and the Cherry Blossom Viewing Party continue to fade away, leaving no resolution in sight?

 While establishing the longest administration in the history of constitutional government, Abe found himself in a difficult situation due to the Moritomo and Kakei issues, as well as the Cherry Blossom Viewing Party scandal.

Strolls, weddings, and more&#8230; The &#8220;merits and demerits&#8221; of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as recounted in this magazine&#8217;s treasured photos

Strolls, weddings, and more… The “merits and demerits” of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as recounted in this magazine’s treasured photos

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