There is a palpable sense of anxiety in some quarters in Japan at the prospects of a Democratic Party of Japan-led majority emerging from the Aug. 30 Lower House elections.

The fear is that the DPJ will wreck the alliance with the United States. It mirrors the near-panic that gripped official Japan last year when it became clear that Barack Obama would defeat John McCain for the U.S. presidency.

A DPJ administration will not put the Japan-U.S. alliance at risk; in fact, it may even strengthen it.