Abe seeks to boost ties with neighbors

Japan's newly updated emphasis on ties with Myanmar "has shown considerations for its geopolitical strategies", and its bonding measures also resonate with Washington's plan to rein in China in the region, Yang said.

Abe will travel to the US for his first overseas trip later this month and meet President Barack Obama.

"The Japan-US alliance is the central pillar (of Japan's foreign policy)," Abe said in an interview with the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on Dec 28.

Like his predecessors, Abe's diplomatic policies will continue to be based on the US-Japan alliance, and enhancements will be made in the alliance as well as Japan's diplomatic and defense policies, Yang Bojiang said.

The revision of the Guidelines for US-Japan Defense Cooperation, a major pact that defines the defense obligations of the two allies, is reportedly on their agenda this year.

"Meanwhile, Tokyo may seek to boost trilateral ties with its Asian neighbors and Washington," Yang said.

Feng Wei, an expert on Japanese studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, said the Abe cabinet will seek a dual strategy combining both hardline stances and softened approaches when dealing with neighbors.

The majority of Abe cabinet has displayed a hawkish position, in spite of the relatively moderate members including Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, Feng said.

Contact the writers at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn and caihong@chinadaily.com.cn.