Next head will face diplomatic challenges: experts
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was re-elected as chief of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Tuesday, amid Chinese observers' concerns that Sino-Japanese relations will worsen even after Abe's term in office ends.
According to Kyodo News on Tuesday, Abe returned unopposed as chief of LDP, underscoring the broad support he enjoys within the ruling party.
Analysts said the fact that Abe retained the post poses a great threat to the Sino-Japanese tie and that the future development of the tie is not positive.
"Abe's being re-elected as chief of the ruling LDP means that he has three more years to govern Japan as the ruling party's leader and would also be the country's prime minister," Hu Lingyuan, a professor from the Japan Research Center at Shanghai-based Fudan University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
It shows that Abe's regime is stable in Japan as there was no competitor within the party, which was rarely seen in the previous administrations, Hu said.
Abe's first term as LDP chief expires on September 30. With his retaining the post, his term will now end in September 2018.
Lü Yaodong, director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Sino-Japanese ties will come upon hard times if Abe is re-elected.
"Abe's attitude to the history is crucial to Sino-Japanese relations. China has been sincere in improving its relationship with Japan but Abe has persisted in attempting to contain China and refuses to face the history. The relationship will only worsen," he said.
The relationship between China and Japan has been strained due to a series of issues such as the South China Sea disputes and Japan's attitude toward historical issues. Abe declined to attend China's military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Beijing recently.
Hu echoed Lü's viewpoint. He said there will be no big changes in Abe's attitude toward China in the coming years and Japan's attempts to contain China will also continue, further damaging the ties.
"It is likely that Abe's security bills will pass soon and he will continue using the threat of China as a means to attract public support and achieve constitutional reform. That will provoke many confrontations with China," Hu said, adding that the South China Sea disputes will be one of the confrontations.
He said although Abe has vowed to hold a leadership summit with China and South Korea, the fundamental contradictions with China will not be easily resolved, and China will have to spend more diplomatic resources to counter the situation.
Lü said the Sino-Japanese tie problem will continue even after Abe's term, as the next prime minister will face a lot of challenges in diplomacy if Japan still ignores historical fact.
Abe may put to vote his security bills to expand the role of the country's military as soon as next week.
