While rewriting the constitution was so unpopular that it failed, [Shinzo] Abe’s motives were not. Indeed, if these are controversial views, the controversy seems limited to these outlets’ foreign bureaus.
These rhetorical flourishes don’t shed light on Abe’s life and thought. They cloud and confuse more than they provide any enlightening context. It’s unclear why they were included at all save the inescapable desire to use the former prime minister’s death for parochial political purposes. In their eagerness to frame Abe as some kind of fanatic, these journalists have exposed their own fanaticism.
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