In a major electoral comeback, Japan's conservatives have won a supermajority in parliament. But the results have stirred anxieties about how they will use their power, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

Escalating friction between Japan and China in the East China Sea is becoming more difficult to contain, fed by political opportunism in both countries, says CFR's Sheila Smith.

CFR Senior Fellow Sheila A. Smith argues that the time has come for Japan and the United States to set priorities for military missions, formalize mechanisms for crisis management coordination, and work toward a long-term basing strategy that consolidates U.S. and Japanese facilities.

CFR's Northeast Asia expert Sheila A. Smith says it is imperative for the United States to make it clear that it will not accept a nuclear North Korea. The UN's nonproliferation regime is also facing a moment of truth, she says.

CFR's Sheila Smith says Pyongyang's latest attempt at a rocket launch shows the regime is clearly bent on acquiring a nuclear delivery capability. She says Washington must reassure North Korea that diplomacy is the only way forward.

CFR Senior Fellow Sheila A. Smith says Japan is well positioned to offer leadership on coping with the global financial crisis. But a domestic political stalemate, she says, threatens its ability to act.

Ahead of September 22 elections that will anoint Japan's next prime minister, CFR's Sheila Smith discusses the country's leadership troubles, economic concerns, and a declining role on the international stage.

Issues such as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the growing relationship between the US and China have strained the US-Japanese alliance, writes Sheila Smith.

Moving beyond decades of hostility, Chinese and Japanese leaders are starting a new trend of goodwill between the two countries. This new attitude includes a move towards cooperating on issues such as climate change and security in Korean peninsula, writes Sheila Smith.

Sheila A. Smith, a CFR adjunct senior fellow who lives in Tokyo, says Yasuo Fukuda, the new Japanese prime minister, is likely to be a moderate force in Japanese politics.

Smith, a Japan political expert living in Tokyo, says even though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not have to resign, there is “intense pressure” on him to do so from within his own party.

Sheila A. Smith, a leading expert on Japanese politics, says the mood in Japan just ahead of parliamentary elections is “disgruntlement” with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

This East-West Centre report analyzes how and why the presence of U.S. forces in Asia is affected by domestic political change, and suggests how alliance policies can better address citizen concerns.