EVENTS

Shinzo Abe was a towering figure in Japanese politics, leaving his imprint on virtually all aspects of national life and policy. As an ardent nationalist with a whip of leadership, however, his advocacy of political agenda often challenged and split the public opinion such as revision of the Japanese Constitution and revision of national security legislation, along with uncompromising leadership on the issues of history and island disputes to the neighboring countries.

He sought to make Japan a "normal nation" that could secure its national interests in the face of a rising and assertive China and a relatively declining and uncertain United States. His greatest successes in this regard lie in keenly understanding the domestic politics of partner countries and developing bilateral and multilateral forms of security and economic cooperation across the Indo-Pacific. He was, however, less successful in managing relations with Korea and overcoming traditional obstacles to Japan's defence, commerce and exports. Abe's policies will have long-lasting effects on Japan's national security, and are likely to be continued by his successors in some form. External pressures will certainly shape much of this trajectory, with Japan walking the line between keeping Beijing at bay and Washington invested in East Asia. This seminar will discuss Shinzo Abe’s legacy in domestic, foreign and security policy and how sustainable it will be post his demise.

About the Speakers

Chiharu Takenaka is former professor of International Politics at Graduate School and College of Law and Politics, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan. She served as President for the Japan Association for Asian Studies in 2013-2015 and the Peace Studies Association of Japan in 2019-2021. Currently, she is a trustee of the International House of Japan and a director of the Japan-India Association. Her writings cover the fields of International Politics and South Asian Studies, including Why are there always Fights in the World? To Untie the Chain of Violence (Tokyo, 2004, in Japanese and Korean), The Bandit History of India: Empire, the State and Outlaws (Tokyo, 2010, in Japanese), awarded the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize in 2011, and Gandhi, a Man Spinning Peace (Tokyo, 2018, in Japanese). She translated the earlier works of Subaltern Studies in Subaltern History: Deconstructing Indian History (Tokyo, 1998, in Japanese).

Rohan Mukherjee is an incoming Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was previously an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. His book, Ascending Order: Rising Powers and the Politics of Status in International Institutions, is forthcoming in the Cambridge Studies in International Relations series at Cambridge University Press. He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Politics at Princeton University.

About the Chair

Deepa Wadhwa has been a distinguished career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1979 and retired in December 2015.She has served as Ambassador of India to Japan (2012-2015), Qatar (2009-2012) and Sweden (2005-2009). During her career, she has also held other significant assignments in China, Geneva, The Netherlands, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of External Affairs. Ms Wadhwa is currently Chairperson of the India- Japan Friendship Forum, Member, Governing Council of the Institute of Chinese Studies and is on the Governing Council of the Asian Confluence, based in Shillong.

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