Despite the election rhetoric, the foreign policy of a government led by the Liberal Democratic Party is unlikely to shift noticeably to the right, according to British observers of Japan's political scene.

Experts believe that LDP chief Shinzo Abe, whose party won Sunday's election by a landslide, will take a measured approach with China despite international media reports suggesting Japan will "lurch to the right."

"When Abe became prime minister in 2006, there were similar fears about him . . . but his first overseas visit was to China and relations improved," Hugo Dobson, a professor of Japan's international relations at Sheffield University, said. "I'm relatively calm about what Abe will do. I think he will tone things down (with China) and get on with the business of government. I don't think there will be rising nationalistic ambitions."