The world has witnessed two momentous state funerals this month. The first was for Queen Elizabeth II, which reminded Americans of the “special relationship” with the U.K. that has endured for more than 70 years. The second, which took place in Tokyo on Tuesday, was for former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe — the first Japanese prime minister to be so honored since Shigeru Yoshida, who signed the peace treaty with the U.S. after World War II and who started Japan’s return to the family of nations. Although less noticed around the world, and more controversial in his home country than Queen Elizabeth’s in hers, the Abe funeral should remind Americans of the other “special relationship” still to come, the one with Japan: the indispensable ally that can help us counterbalance China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific in the 21st century.
Certainly Abe, who was murdered by a deranged fanatic in July, has been Japan’s most decisive prime minister since World War II. It was Abe who set to work realigning Japan’s national power, including a 70-year standing alliance with the United States, with its stature as the third-biggest economy in the world, in order to meet the growing threat from China and its client state North Korea — and to make Japan the essential partner of America in stabilizing the region and preserving peace.
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