As thousands of attendees, including representatives from over 217 countries, territories and international organizations, arrive in Japan to attend the state funeral of the country's former prime minister Shinzo Abe, his contribution to Japan as the country's longest serving post-war prime minister has been immense.
Despite, opinion polls showing that most Japanese were not fond of him, he kept coming back to power. Even now, there have been many protests against the state funeral for the assassinated prime minister.
Read more: Shinzo Abe state funeral: Timeline of the career of the assassinated Japanese PM
But Shinzo Abe is credited for giving stability and security to Japan. Before Shinzo Abe returned to power in 2012, Japan had suffered its biggest trauma since World War Two - a massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown at Fukushima. Shinzo Abe helped the country's economy with a plan called “Abenomics”, declaring vehemently “Japan is back”.
Another legacy of the former prime minister is national security and diplomatic relations. Shinzo Abe sought to build an alliance of what he called "like-minded democracies", including India and Australia and has been instrumental in the founding of the Quad.
{{/usCountry}}Another legacy of the former prime minister is national security and diplomatic relations. Shinzo Abe sought to build an alliance of what he called "like-minded democracies", including India and Australia and has been instrumental in the founding of the Quad.
{{/usCountry}}Shinzo Abe removed Article 9 which is part of the country's constitution, making it a pacifist nation since World War Two. But facing the threat from China and North Korea rising, Shinzo Abe removed Article 9.