Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, whose assassination on Friday during an election campaign stunned the world, remade Japan's international status like no other leader in its post-World War 2 history. Having served cumulatively for a record-breaking nine years as head of government in a country where the average tenure of prime ministers is barely two years, he had stable command over his own party and the government machinery, plus loads of political charisma, to overhaul Japan's image and its policies