When Shinzo Abe left his office as Japanese prime minister for the last time last week, he released a short video of highlights from his eight years in office. There was Mr Abe dressed as Super Mario at the closing ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; Mr Abe taking golf course selfies with Donald Trump; and Mr Abe alongside Barack Obama at the Hiroshima peace memorial, on the 70th anniversary of the world’s first nuclear bombing.
The video was a reminder of Mr Abe’s sometimes under-appreciated talents as a politician: his lack of condescension to voters, his pleasure in the spotlight and his ability to frame an issue. Leadership is a matter of policy and judgment, for sure, but it is also about vision and communication. Underlying everything Mr Abe did was a simple message of optimism and national revival. The Japanese people responded to that and it carried him through scandals and policy errors that might have brought another government down.
Mr Abe’s successor, Yoshihide Suga, has vowed to continue with Mr Abe’s policies. Indeed, he won the prime ministership largely because, as chief cabinet secretary for the past eight years, Mr Suga was best placed to lay claim to the Abe legacy. It makes sense to continue with a programme that worked. But Mr Suga should recognise that he needs more than just policies but a message and a vision to match Mr Abe as well.