Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has been selected as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, roundly defeating his two rivals, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso. Within a week the Diet will elect him as the nation's next prime minister.
Mr. Abe will inherit daunting problems from his predecessor, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi. These include the nation's financial reconstruction and swelling social-security costs, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and Japan's deteriorated relations with China and South Korea caused by Mr. Koizumi's repeated visits to Yasukuni Shrine.
While Mr. Abe must tackle these problems, a grander theme will establish the character of his administration: a departure from the postwar regime and revision of the Constitution. Mr. Abe's perception of Japan's modern wars forms his basic political orientation. Because this orientation is closely related to diplomacy and the fundamental shape of Japan's polity, including the basic relationship between the government and the citizenry and education policy, its effect on the future of Japan and the region must be closely scrutinized.