December 11, 2014
Why Japan’s Election Matters
Amidst the worst Russian aggression since the Cold War, the seizure of large swaths of the Middle East by Islamist extremists, a teetering nuclear negotiation with Iran and a race to contain one of the planet’s most terrifying viruses, the world might be forgiven for not paying much attention to an election here in peaceful, prosperous Japan.
Certainly the vote, to be held on Sunday, lacks the life-or-death immediacy of crises elsewhere. Nor is the race likely to be a nail-biter. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe —who returned to lead the country two years ago after a half-decade in the political wilderness—is all but certain to retain his parliamentary majority; the only question is by what margin.
Read the full op-ed at The Wall Street Journal.