Japan's Political Lurch To The Right

The election of right-wing Shinzo Abe in Japan will bring an increase in tensions in East Asia but reform for an ailing economy. The new prime minister is 58-year-old Shinzo Abe's election victory marks his return to Japan's highest office after he served as Japan's prime minister for exactly a year between September 2006 and September 2007. Domestically, the economy will be Mr Abe's biggest challenge. He has called for "unlimited" monetary easing - essentially the continuous printing of money. It is a controversial and high-risk strategy but analysts say it at least represents an effort to do something after years of indecision over the country's economy. Internationally, there is significant anxiety over the direction in which Mr Abe will take Japan's relations with China and with South Korea. Tokyo is locked in two separate maritime disputes, one with Seoul and the other with Beijing.

The dispute with China is particularly tense with the two countries both claiming sovereignty over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea. Mr Abe, a proud nationalist, has cast himself as the strong leader he says Japan needs to overcome its economic difficulties and to stand up to Chinese aggression. He has called for a change to Japan's pacifist constitution to allow its military to adopt a more offensive stance. His version of history will also cause some unease. He has openly said he doesn't believe that Japanese troops forced Chinese and Korean women into sexual slavery during World War Two despite evidence to the contrary.

Mr Ishihara could be blamed for sparking the island dispute with China. His announcement in April that he would buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owners was seen as an overt attempt to irritate Beijing.
The Japanese government's move to block Ishihara's purchase by nationalising the islands was designed to diffuse the tension with China, but it had the opposite effect. The election victory reflects a country that is more nationalist than it has been in decades.