Action in and of itself is not a virtue, especially when many of his iniatives take square aim at dismantling democratic freedoms. This is akin to the fetishization of &quot;speed&quot; by Italian futurists that paved the way for fascism&#x27;s rise in Italy. And his coalition has long-standing ties to the yakuza and the CIA, so I guess it is &quot;powerful&quot; to the extent that it&#x27;s aligned itself with malevolent actors whom his opponents would rather not consort with out of baseline morality. Again, I see nothing worthy of respect here or with the other corrupt regimes backed up with similar means.<p>Everyone involved with Japan&#x27;s imperialist past may be dead, but some of its victims are not - for example surviving comfort women in Korea. Abe has on many occasions pandered to the extreme right by denying that anything was perpetrated against these people. I can&#x27;t imagine being a victim of state-sponsored rape and having your experience further denied everytime a prime minister needs to curry favor. But I guess if &quot;stuff needs to get done,&quot; that&#x27;s just the cost of doing business.<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.japansubculture.com&#x2F;how-the-cia-helped-put-the-yakuza-and-the-ldp-in-power&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.japansubculture.com&#x2F;how-the-cia-helped-put-the-ya...</a>