To assess how the next U.S. administration of Barack Obama would cope with the various challenges ahead, it is essential to have an accurate understanding of the significance of his election victory, Japanese experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.

As the first black to become U.S. president, much of the Japanese media coverage of the election tended to focus on this fact, but that is only one part of the story, they said.

Four experts took part in the Nov. 20 symposium organized by the Keizai Koho Center to discuss Obama's economic and diplomatic challenges as well as Japan-U.S. relations.