Shinzo Abe has been given a second chance. He should count himself lucky. Nothing in his first, truncated term merits another spell at the helm of the world’s third-biggest economy. At least Mr Abe has shown some humility. He has admitted that the resounding victory for his Liberal Democratic party is less an endorsement of its policies and more a rejection of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Last time round, Mr Abe was obsessed with his vision of a “beautiful Japan”, a predilection that led him down a policy cul-de-sac of whitewashing history. He upgraded the defence agency to a full-fledged ministry and set about trying to change the pacifist constitution. His popularity rapidly plummeted.
This time, Mr Abe’s victory does owe something to the perceived Chinese territorial threat over the Senkaku islands, known as Diaoyu in China. But the new prime minister should reserve most of his attention for the economy. Here Mr Abe has sounded much more sensible. He has proposed setting an inflation target of 2-3 per cent for the Bank of Japan. This is a good idea and can be achieved without compromising central bank independence. Mr Abe should follow through on his proposal and appoint a Bank of Japan governor who is strongly committed to restoring growth and ending the cycle of deflation.