Will Shinzo Abe’s widow take over his safe seat, or is Japan ready to move on?

Akie Abe fanned speculation she may take over her late husband’s constituency, viewed as the ‘safest of safe seats’, following comments at a funeral service

She faces opposition from the Abe family, and lack of political experience makes her no match for Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is touted as a future leader

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Late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and his wife Akie are seen during a cherry blossom viewing party in April 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/File

Published: 8:30am, 2 Nov 2022

The widow of former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe is considering taking over his constituency before a by-election next spring, a move likely to be welcomed by his faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, but may cause friction among the Abe family and other senior party members.

Akie Abe fanned speculation she may assume the Yamaguchi No 4 constituency and then stand in the April 2023 by-election, saying during a funeral service in Nara for her husband on October 15: “My husband really loved Yamaguchi, as well as the cities of Shimonoseki and Nagato. I also want to engage in some sort of activity for this area.”

Her late husband was killed in Nara in July by a man protesting the growing influence of the Unification Church in Japanese politics.

Akie Abe, wife of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe carries a cinerary urn as she arrives at the state of funeral of her husband on September 27, 2022. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Akie Abe’s comments have inspired members of the Abe faction within the LDP, which has gradually been losing influence since the former prime minister’s death, and given them new hope that his often hard-line legacy might continue. They have not been put off by Abe’s lack of political experience or the scandals that have dogged her in recent years, analysts say.