Former Prime Minister Running Again in Japan’s Election
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Jason Reed/Ryan McVay/Photodisc(TOKYO) — His first tenure lasted less than a year, but now Japan’s former Prime Minister is poised to return to power. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party elected Shinzo Abe as its new leader Wednesday.
With polls suggesting a big win for the party in the upcoming elections, Abe could become Japan’s next leader this fall. This raises concerns in China and South Korea at a time when Japan is engulfed in major territorial disputes.
Abe is a hawkish conservative, who has openly denied so-called comfort women were coerced into becoming sex slaves for the Japanese Imperial Army. He’s also visited a controversial shrine that honors Japan’s war dead, including class-A war criminals.
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