ABSTRACT
Prime Minister Abe Shinzo (2006–7; 2012–) is a polarizing leader who has pursued a transformative agenda with mixed results. Less than one-third of voters support Abe’s signature policies, ranging from collective self-defense, arms exports and state secrets legislation to nuclear reactor restarts, constitutional revision, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and building a new base for US marines in Okinawa. National polls find that support for his policies and leadership is quite low (about 15%), while the main reason voters give for supporting him is the lack of a viable alternative (about 50%), a lukewarm endorsement for a leader on track to become Japan’s longest-serving prime minister.
