One of the great weights around the neck of Japanese politics in the past decade has been the refusal of older party leaders to make way for a younger cohort of politicians who might have better ideas for bringing Japan out of its economic slump. This inertia only became more prominent after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis.

The Japanese military is emerging from decades of pacifism. But do the country's political leaders have the vision and the will to make the country strong again?

Obama's administration is finally taking a tougher stance on Beijing after years wasted trying for cooperation.

For the United States, the critical role that the TPP could play in Japanese politics and economic reform raises the stakes.

There is a great deal to remember this week, the one year anniversary of the devastating Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis. Few events in recent history have combined to such an intense degree natural disaster, technological failure, humanitarian relief, and government scrutiny. 

Japan's economic performance has largely been written off over the past two decades. It shouldn't be—reform could build on the country's strong fundamentals.

Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan has done the political equivalent of committing ritual suicide to atone for the sins of being a failure. Japan now has a dead prime minister walking, the fifth in as many years. Does any of this matter? It's getting harder for Japan specialists to assert that it does.

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Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, electing its third prime minister in a year and unable to sell its policy platform to voters, looks likely to lose power to the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. For over one year, Japan’s...