At a glance: Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe

The personal chemistry between Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan is something that is being talked about across the world.Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Narendra Modi have a lot in common. For one, Modi is currently the first Prime Minister of India to be born after India's Independence. Shinzo Abe is Japan's first Prime Minister to be born after the World War II.Shinzo Abe is a true visionary who is leading Japan to the path of development. Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun has seen many catastrophes. But its strength lies in its ability to stand each time it falls. For a developing nation like India, there could be no nation better than Japan to learn from. Arguably, this time Prime Minister Modi has hit on the right note by revisiting and re- strengthening the age old bond between the two countries.Few striking similarities between the two great leaders of great two great nations are:1. Narendra Modi was able to lead his party, the BJP a landslide victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. Modi's inspiring leadership helped BJP to overthrow the Congress that had been in power for a decade.On 16th May, 2014 BJP's presumed victory became reality. Modi with his party's support became the Prime Minister of India.Similarly, under Shinzo Abe's leadership, his party LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) achieved an overwhelming response from the people of Japan. On 16th December 2012, Japan faced elections in which the ruling party Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lost. DPJ fell dramatically short of the expectations of regime change.2. Narendra Modi's mantra is ‘sabka saath sabka vikas'. He wants to take everyone together. From the ramparts of the Red Fort, Narendra Modi urged all the South Asian countries to unite and fight poverty.Within days of taking charge PM Modi made it clear that foreign policy was among his top priorities and that he would kick start his landmark five –day visit to the Land of Rising Sun.As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe too has worked to improve the strategic relationship between Japan and India. Abe proposed a “Broader Asia” alliance of democracies as a counterweight to China's growing influence in the realm of economics and military power.Shinzo Abe's India foreign policy is pragmatic, as it was based on boosting Japan's resurgent economic indicators, while gaining a crucial partner in Asia. India, alone amongst all major Asian countries, does not have a history of serious military dispute with Japan.Narendra Modi stresses on development. In fact his election agenda was development.Similarly after Shinzo Abe came back to power after 16th December 2012, he said, “With the strength of my entire cabinet, I will implement bold monetary policy, flexible fiscal policy and a growth strategy that encourages private investment, and with these three policy pillars, achieve results.”Shinzo Abe's economic policies are called Abenomics. His economy policy consists of fiscal and monetary expansion with a 2% target inflation rate.Narendra Modi is often labeled ‘Hitler' by his opponents. Narendra Modi's independent stand on policies, his religious beliefs, etc has earned him this title. Narendra Modi is for cronyism and is a “business first” politician. In addition to ‘India First', Narendra Modi is also known for his pro-business leanings.In his recent visit to Japan, Modi said, “I am a Gujarati, business is in my blood.”For Shinto Abe, taking his nation's economy to greater heights is his aim. He is a genius when it comes to business. North Koreans call him Hitler. He is often referred to as the Asian Hitler by North Korea.Let us know more about Shinzo Abe.Shinzo Abe was born on 21st September 1954 in Yamaguchi in Japan. He was born to a politically powerful family. Both his grandfather (Kan Abe) and father, Shintaro Abe were eminent leaders. Shinzo mother was the daughter of Japan's former Prime Minister, Nobusuke Kishi. Shinzo Abe married Akie Matsuzaki in 1987. She was a socialite and radio jockey. Shinzo's wife is famously called “domestic opposition party” because she is an outspoken person. In most cases her views are different from her husband's.Shinzo Abe is the 57th Prime Minister of Japan. He was reelected in December 2012. Before this he was the Prime Minister for a short while.He is also the President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and chairman of the Oyagaku propulsion parliamentary group. He has served as Japan's PM on previous occasion too from 2006 to 2007. He was the youngest Prime Minister of the nation post war.On 26th September 2012 was again made the Prime Minster of Japan after under his leadership LDP won the elections. He is the first former Prime Minister to return to the office since Shigeru Yoshida in 1948.Shinzo Abe follows Shinto and Zen Buddhism.After studying political science at Seikei University in metropolitan Tokyo, Abe graduated in 1977.He headed for the United States in the late 1970s, taking English-language and political science classes at the University of Southern California.Abe returned to Japan in 1979 and worked for the Kobe Steel Corporation for three years, but it was not long before he returned to the family vocation. In 1982 he entered the political world as an executive assistant in the foreign affairs ministry.Shinzo's actual political career began when he was elected to the district of Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1993 after his father's death in 1991. He was appointed as the Secretary General in 2003 of the Liberal Democratic Party.Shinzo Abe is a member of a faction that is headed by Japan's former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori. It is called Mori Faction. Between the periods of 1977 to 1983 some Japanese were abducted by North Korea. On 17th September 2002, Shinzo Abe was made the chief negotiator for the Japanese government on behalf of the families of Japanese abductees. He demanded abducted Japanese who visited Japan remain in the country. This was done in defiance of North Korea. Through this he gained immense national popularity. He was the leader of a project team within the LDP that did a survey on “excessive sexual education and gender-free education”.On September 20, 2006, Abe was elected as the President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.In March 2007, Abe along with right-wing politicians have proposed a bill to encourage nationalism and a “love for one's country and hometown” among the Japanese youth.