Liu Junhong writes that Japan’s recent election results reflect the shifting landscape of Japan's party politics, and drastic changes in the country's domestic and international environment.

The decisive election victory of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, gives the ruling coalition control of both houses of the Diet for the first time in six years. While the election is seen as an embrace of ‘Abenomics,’ Stephen Harner urges Abe to reform his nationalist policies.

How vital is resolution of the Senkaku/Diaoyu territorial dispute to Sino-US relations? As Stephen M. Harner explains, the United States has undertaken high-level exchanges with key influencers in Japan in an attempt to pressure Japan to concede on the issue.

Critiquing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s interview in Foreign Affairs, Liu Jiangyong dissects the differences between Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine, embroiled in controversy over its militaristic history, and the United States’ Arlington National Cemetery.

Liu Jiangyong writes that the Sino-Japanese dispute over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands has entered a new stage; and disputes Japanese claims, saying that China will not shelve the issue unilaterally.

Criticizing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Liu Junhong explains how the repeat ruler’s political missteps have incited fear in the Japanese public and complicated Japan’s relations with the energy sectors of the US and Russia.

The Japanese constitution is at a crossroads, writes Liu Jiangyong. A revision would not only affect the Sino-Japanese relationship, but the Japan-U.S. alliance will also face new options.

From nationalizing disputed territory to visiting controversial war shrines and justifying the egregious treatment of women in wartime, aggressive actions and over-the-top statements by Japanese politicians will only exacerbate future problems between China and Japan.

After staying in power for only three years, Japan’s Democratic Party lost the parliament election to the Liberal Democratic Party. The Yoshihiko Noda cabinet,

The landslide victory of Shinzō Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party over the reigning Democratic Party of Japan was an outcome that was widely predicted, but the gravitas of this tectonic shift in Japanese politics is yet unknown.