The election of the hawkish Shinzo Abe as Japan's prime minister has the world worrying that Tokyo is about to part with its pacifist strategy of the last 70 years. But Japan's new leaders are pragmatic, and so long as the United States does not waver in its commitment to the country's defense, they are unlikely chart a new course.

Japan is undergoing profound changes that are empowering its political leadership at the expense of its bureaucracy.

Sheila A. Smith says Yoshihiko Noda will need to stitch together a frayed party and a fractured public to lead Japan — and stay in power.

The treaty that forms the backbone of postwar relations between Washington and Tokyo is one of the most enduring treaties since the Peace of Westphalia.

The DPJ's rise to power is a historic opportunity for Japan to revise the constitution, loosen the bureaucracy's grip on policymaking, redistribute income, and improve relations with the rest of Asia. But the road will be long and tortuous.

Japan should not apologize for its past aggression by emulating the contrition that Germany has displayed since the mid-1960s because it would risk a nationalist backlash.

The Bush legacy in Asia is positive and the next admistration can continue this trend by continuing multilateral engagement with Japan and China.

Shinzo Abe has had a tough act to follow since succeeding the charismatic Junichiro Koizumi as Japan's prime minister. Abe has already shown himself to be adept in the field of foreign affairs, and Tokyo's influence is likely to increase with him at the helm. But it remains uncertain whether he can keep the momentum going on the reforms needed to stave off economic stagnation.

This issue guide provides a range of background and analysis on Japan's earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis.

As Japan struggles to control problems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, it also must grapple with questions about nuclear power in the face of immediate and long-term energy needs.

With the nuclear incident at the Fukushima power plant unabated, Japanese officials have come under fire for failing to control the crisis as concern about radiation grows.

An unfolding nuclear crisis in the aftermath of Japan's earthquake and tsunami is raising questions over safety of nuclear power, and could bring expansion of nuclear power projects globally under pressure.

A compilation of resources on the impact of the global financial crisis on Japan.

U.S. financial regulators could draw some lessons from Japan's experience of the 1990s, when the implosion of a real estate bubble led to a systemic crisis in the country's banking sector.

The election of a veteran politician raises as many questions as it answers in a country brimming with political uncertainty.

The resignation of Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe leaves analysts guessing and somewhat pessimistic at the fate of Abe’s ambitious economic reform agenda.

A landslide vote against Shinzo Abe’s ruling party exposes rifts in the country’s policies, both at home and abroad.

Japan’s nuclear power plant accident, triggered by an earthquake, is a reminder of the trouble in building nuclear power plants near fault lines.