FOCUS: Takaichi Vows to Take Over Abe Diplomacy during Foreign Trip

Canberra, May 5 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has vowed to take over the diplomatic policy of the late former leader Shinzo Abe, whom she respects as her mentor, during her latest tour of Vietnam and Australia. In her summit talks with leaders of Vietnam and Australia, Takaichi highlighted the need for stepped-up cooperation in the field of economic security, such as strengthening supply chains for energy and natural resources as well as critical minerals. The road to achieving results will be bumpy under the current turbulent international situation, however, pundits said. At the start of her foreign policy address at Vietnam National University in Hanoi on Saturday, Takaichi noted that Abe in 2013 chose the Southeast Asian nation as the destination for his first foreign trip since he returned as Japanese prime minister and launched his second administration in December 2012. “I too have long looked forward to visiting Vietnam at the earliest (possible) opportunity since assuming my current post” in October last year, she said. Takaichi praised the Free and Open Indo-Pacific initiative, proposed by Abe 10 years ago, saying, “This concept has…been widely shared as a clear vision of Japanese diplomacy, not only within Japan but also having an impact on the foreign policies of the United States and many other nations.” She showed a vision to evolve the FOIP initiative by making economic security as a new cornerstone of regional cooperation. According to informed sources, the prime minister repeatedly revised the draft of her address even on the government plane carrying her to Vietnam. To help the audience better understand the evolved FOIP concept, she tried to include many concrete examples in the address, the sources said. Takaichi “is very enthusiastic about taking over the policies promoted by the Abe administration and further refining them to fit the current era,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato, who accompanied the prime minister on the tour, said. In Australia on Monday, Takaichi visited the Canberra Nara Peace Park in the country’s capital and laid flowers at a monument built there for Abe, who was shot to death during a stump speech in the western Japan city of Nara in July 2022. In talks with reporters later that day, Takaichi again mentioned Abe and said, “I want to take concrete steps (related to the new FOIP) to help make the entire Indo-Pacific region stronger and more affluent.” However, it remains to be seen whether the new FOIP initiative centering on economic security can obtain broad support at a time when there have been structural changes in the international order, such as intensifying geopolitical competition. Moves by the United States and China are a source of concern. China has been increasing hegemonic behavior on the military and economic fronts. The United States, which has supported the FOIP initiative, is recently making moves deviating from the rule of law under President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, some in Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Takaichi, are critical of the prime minister’s diplomacy in which she touts her strategy by touching on Abe’s policies. A veteran LDP lawmaker who keeps a distance from Takaichi said: “(The prime minister) does not need to repeatedly mention Abe’s stories. It’s like an election campaign for conservative supporters.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]