Shinzo Abe.

Yōko Abe and Shintarō Abe had a son on September 21, 1954 in Tokyo: Shinzo Abe. The child grew up in a political family; his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi had been Prime Minister of Japan. He attended Seikei schools and earned degrees from Seikei University and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. These early experiences steered him toward a political career.

Shinzo Abe first became Prime Minister on September 26, 2006, but resigned after one year. He returned to the post on December 26, 2012 and held it until September 16, 2020, becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister. He also served as President of the Liberal Democratic Party during both terms. Economic reforms known as Abenomics and a strong national security stance defined his time in office. Abe appears as archive footage in the documentaries The Final Year 2018 and Black Box Diaries 2024.

Abe married Akie in 1987. They stayed together until his assassination on July 8, 2022. He had two siblings: Nobuo Kishi, who also entered politics, and Hironobu Abe. His father Shintarō Abe was a politician, and his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi had served as prime minister. Abe did not share details of his personal life publicly; no information about children is available.

On July 8, 2022, a lone gunman assassinated Shinzo Abe, shocking Japan and highlighting the country’s extreme rarity of political violence. Posthumously, Japan awarded him the Junior First Rank and the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, its highest honors. Abe’s economic policies, Abenomics, and his security reforms continue to shape modern Japanese politics.