by Governor Art Yap
July 10, 2022
Good Night Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
As I write this article, I am shocked to find out that Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is campaigning in Nara, was shot as he was delivering a speech. After a few hours, the report came in that PM Abe succumbed to his wounds and died from an assasin’s cowardlly act of shooting him, from the back, at that.
I am truly shaken because Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the world and one would think they have been able to move beyond such violence in politics. I am also deeply saddened because I have personally engaged with PM Minister Abe a number of times in the course of my Government Service in the past 22 years.
Prime Minister Abe was the longest serving Japanese Prime Minister after World War 2. He was briefly PM in 2006-2007 when I first met him. But even when he was not Prime Minister anymore, I still had the chance to see him in Japan as he continued to be one of Japan’s political heavyweights, leading a faction of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), until he came back to power in 2012.
The last time I met him was a few years ago when as the head of the Economics Affairs Committee of the 17th Congress of the Philippines, I accompanied then newly elected President Rodrigo Road Duterte to Japan on a State Visit.
While in Japan, we were received in the Prime Minister’s Official Residence where we were feted to a dinner that showed off the best of Japanese Cuisine. It was also an evening that celebrated Philippines-Japan Friendship through the decades after World War 2. How we repaired our relationship with Japan after the War is one of the great stories of reconciliation in history.
If you will remember your history, we were invaded by the Japanese the day after Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was bombed on December 7, 1941. Not only was the Philippines invaded by the Japanese but was also brutalized, terrorized and humiliated for four years or until August, 1945. The war reached Bohol’s shores as well with many proud and loyal sons sacrificed on the altar of heroism and bravery.
Among the names immortalized in the hearts of Bolanons for their fight for freedom during World War 2 are: “Salazar, Nunag, Relampagos, Bernido, and Abueva.” I am sure there are many more far too many to include in the limited space of this Article.
But after the War, the Japanese did well and stood by their pacifict constitution, living by a code of altruism and charity which saw them as consistently, the single biggest Official Development Assistance (ODA) donor to the Philippines. Currentlly, Japan maintains that spot. Bohol has been a beneficiary of this Japanese policy since our Panglao International Airport, the Loay Bridge were funded with Japanese ODA Funds through JICA. If we are lucky, the Third Panglao to Tagbilaran Bridge may even be funded by Japanese funds.
This policy of ODA investments was sustained by PM Abe who held the Philippines in high regard. He twice visited the Philippines during President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Administration and is probably the only global head of state that Tatay Digong hosted in his house in Davao City.
As a Filipino I can only say “domo arigato gozaimasu” for what this leader has done for our country and I can only express my deep sadness at his passing at the hands of an assassin. It was truly a senseless way to die after living a life which made the lives of so many better, brighter and fuller. For now, rest well and good night PM Shinzo Abe.