In Japan, the only change is the leadership

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party swept its way to a resounding victory last week, and the result quickly got a thumbs-up from analysts and investors. But the incoming prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is far from a new figure in the country’s political establishment — and it would be fool-hardy to expect a seismic shift from the political party that helped get Japan into the mess it is in at the moment.