A Communist Party of China newspaper, in the editorial of its Monday edition, warns against the hard-line stance taken against the country by Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe, who set to become Japan’s next prime minister following the party’s victory in the general election on Sunday.

China will be closely watching how Japan’s next administration, to be led by Abe, will sort out the current chaotic situation in the country, the People’s Daily said.  Visits to war-related Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese prime ministers, the territorial dispute over the East China Sea islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and issues related to Japan’s constitution are key fundamental issues, the paper said.

Any of these issues should not be allowed to remain vague, it said, warning against Japan’s perceived nationalism and its possible tilt to the right.  At the same time, the newspaper said China hopes that new leaders of Japan will act to prevent the bilateral tensions from escalating further, work together to control the current crisis and focus on bilateral and regional issues in light of the need to promote Asia’s long-term development.

China and Japan, the newspaper says, are at a key juncture in terms of whether the bilateral relations will take a step forward or backward.  In Sunday’s election for the House of Representatives, the LDP scored an overwhelming victory and is set to win back power from the Democratic Party of Japan.

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