Shinzo Abe

Shinzo Abe, who was recently assassinated by a deranged paranoiac who thought the former Japanese prime minister belonged to a cult, was a true Japanese patriot.  He set about making his country economically stronger and more resilient, he hoped to have the Japanese postwar constitution amended to allow a military buildup to combat the growing power of China, and he looked to strengthen alliances with the United States and South Korea.  He also looked to make Japanese youth feel more a part of society to give them hope for the future.  Abe's assassination was unexpected, given Japan's strict gun laws, but the reaction to the murder was very predictable.  The Japanese people, who look out for each other and work in unison to make their country work as flawlessly as one of their own products, all poured out into the streets to pay their last respects to Abe as his body was taken to his final resting place.  It was the sort of funeral more commonly associated with that of an emperor.

Abe had been campaigning for his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in by-elections for the Diet, the Japanese parliament, when he was shot to death, and the voters responded with a huge endorsement of LDP candidates.  It was a fitting tribute to a man as iconic in Japanese politics as Abe.