Shinzo Abe leaves a mixed legacy for Japanese science
While applied research has been boosted there are complaints that fundamental work has suffered
Shinzo Abe’s decision to step down as Japan’s prime minister for health reasons brings to an end the longest term of any holder of this post. When he came to power in 2012, Abe launched a set of aggressive economic policies dubbed Abenomics. His plan was to reinvigorate an economy that had suffered two decades of stagnant growth and make Japan one of the most innovative countries in the world. So how has science and technology fared during his premiership?