Since Shinzo Abe returned to power in 2012, I have referred to the deterioration of democracy as "Abe-ization." Abe-ization is a phenomenon characterized by the following features.
1) A childish character with an extremely strong narcissist tendency takes power. 2) On the flip side of the narcissism, the man in power is unable to accept criticism against or advice to him, and in turn comes to hate the people who criticize him. 3) The man in power will resort to any means to attack his critics, including false charges and fabrication of facts, especially toward mass media organizations that are critical of him. 4) The man in power does not feel ashamed even when his lies have been exposed, and constantly tries to justify himself. 5) Among the man in power and people who support him pervades an anti-intellectualism that prevents them from discerning fact from fabrication.
This Abe-ization has spread around the world, most recently coming in the form of Donald Trump winning the U.S. presidential election in November. A close aide to Abe is said to have noted that the prime minister would get along well with Trump. In fact, they are birds of the same feather in that they both have strong narcissistic tendencies and are prone to making false statements. Furthermore, Trump's victory could have a major role in reversing the history of modern-day democracy.
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