In Japan, the only change is the leadership

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party swept its way to a resounding victory at the end of 2012, and analysts and investors quickly gave the result the thumbs-up. But incoming prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is far from a new face in the country’s political establishment — and it would be foolhardy to expect any seismic shift from the political party that helped get Japan into the mess it is in.