Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe returned to the prime minister's office facing a host of diplomatic challenges. But perhaps none is greater than the wariness, and fear, abroad that his rightwing, nationalistic views will strain Tokyo's relations with Washington and create further tensions with Beijing and Seoul.

Next month, Abe will travel to Washington, his first official trip abroad as prime minister. Abe has emphasized the importance of the Japan-U.S. relationship, especially with respect to the military. But there are a number of specific bilateral issues the U.S. will likely press Japan on.

"In the area of the alliance, certainly 2013 is the year we should break the bottleneck involved with moving Futenma air base to Henoko," said Kurt Tong, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo during a symposium in Washington last week.