Shinzo Abe, 58, who becomes prime minister again Wednesday, is regarded overseas, particularly in Asia, as one of the most-known — and probably most notorious — hawkish politicians in Tokyo.
But what made him so hawkish?
One can point to experiences he encountered in childhood and adolescence. In a book he wrote and published in 2006 shortly before he became prime minister the first time around, he confessed to feeling stigmatized as the grandson of rightwing politician Nobusuke Kishi, an ex-wartime industry minister who was arrested by the Allied Occupation forces for being a suspected Class-A war criminal.
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