Shinzo Abe gets a Wall Street Journal portrait

The Japanese TV news this morning is somewhat excited about the Wall Street Journal portrait of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which appeared in the April 21 article “Yes, Prime Minister,” a write-up of their interview with Abe. The central theme of the article seems to be that Abe is not as interesting as predecessor:

It’s still too early to tell if Mr. Abe will fade into obscurity or if he’ll carry on where Mr. Koizumi left off. But the time is fast approaching for a referendum on his leadership. In July, Japan holds Upper House elections, and if the LDP loses badly, Mr. Abe’s leadership could be up for grabs. Lucky for him, the opposition is weak, the LDP coalition’s grip on power is strong and the party doesn’t have a clear successor. So Mr. Abe may, indeed, have a second chance to show he’s Mr. Koizumi’s real heir. But his softly-softly approach says to the Japanese public, trust me, I’ll do more after you re-elect me. And given his record at home so far, that’s a lot to ask.

We are running out of time–the public-relations keepers cut my interview slot from an hour, to 30 minutes, to 25. And a discreet man suddenly sidles up to my chair and whispers in my ear, around minute 20, that it’s “time for the last question.”

So, I ask, “Is there anything that the prime minister would like to discuss that I didn’t ask?”

“My administration will continue with our efforts to work on reforms energetically,” he says. “And in my upcoming meeting with President Bush, I’d like to really cement our mutual trust and make the U.S.-Japan alliance unshakable.” Laudable, but dull–just like his policies at home so far.

Read the full article here.