Abe keen to put Japan center stage

The Abe administration took a diplomatic gamble in May 2014 agreeing to lift its sanctions on the DPRK in exchange for Pyongyang's promise to re-investigate the where abouts of all Japanese residing in the country, including abductees. Japan specified a deadline of one year for the reinvestigation into Japanese abductees by DPRK to be completed, which started in July 2014. But the DPRK has so far failed to offer Japan a report.

Thus the DPRK's claim that it has successfully tested a hydrogen bomb poses a dilemma for Japan, as strong action against Pyongyang could kill the already stalled talks on the issue of abduction.

"We will lodge a protest together with the international community, but even so, we will ensure that the abduction issue will be not shelved. That's a difficult equation," Japan's daily newspaper Mainichi Shimbun quoted a government source as saying.

Even while closing ranks with the West and imposing sanctions against Russia, Abe has made better ties with Moscowa priority. Tokyo has had talks with Moscowon the long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries, and Abe plans to visit Russia in spring to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hope of moving forward the dialogue.

Japan is keen to use the Abe-Putin meeting to drive home to the international community the message that it can play the role of mediator between Russia, the US and European nations. However, this will be a delicate balancing act for Japan between the US and Russia. Meanwhile, Japan's controversial security-related legislation, which passed into law in September, will come into force in March. The Japanese cabinet has approved a record high defense budget for the new fiscal year starting April 1.

Much of what Abe has already sought to do in his extensive travels abroad is to argue that "Japan is back" as a global player. It is to be hoped that Japan will play a constructive, peacemaking role.

The author is China Daily's Tokyo bureau chief. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn