In The God Strategy, David Domke and Kevin Coe introduced the concepts of God talk and faith talk to distinguish between explicit and implicit references to religion in American political discourse. Although God talk is perhaps more prevalent in nations where allusions to religion are commonplace in political language, faith talk – speaking to adherents through the use of “cues” that are often imperceptible to outsiders – is more likely to be used by politicians in states such as Japan, where secular legislation restricts the political discourse. In this paper I will illustrate how faith talk is used as a rhetorical strategy in the discourse of politicians representing Japan’s conservative right, with a particular focus on the rhetoric and public image of Abe Shinzō. Abe fostered an image of himself as a self-proclaimed nationalist and devoted “Shintoist,” and he retained close ties to many of the organizations that together form the postwar “Shinto establishment,” including the Association of Shinto Shrines (Jinja Honchō, NASS). Although Abe was rarely as explicit as U.S. presidents tend to be, through his words and actions he disseminated the image of Japan as a “Shinto” nation.