From Abenomics to the State Secrets Act

THIS has been a year of transition for Japan, one which could see the nation escape from 15 years of deflation and stagnation and also set out along the road to developing a more open economy, one able to interact more dynamically with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region and the world.

But equally it has been a year when Japan's relations with its North-east Asian neighbours, especially China, have deteriorated badly to the point where even some kind of military confrontation has become thinkable and where Japan's post-war democratic freedoms have been challenged.

The world at large has been far more aware of the first of these two developments than the second. The emergence of "Abenomics" has attracted far more attention internationally than has Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's rather reactionary and nationalistic brand of politics.