President Komorowski was planned to go on an official visit to Japan at the end of November. Did Abe Shinzo's cabinet permanently change Japan in less than two years that he has been in office? Currently little shows for it. Far-reaching structural reforms are a must. The success or failure of the PM's ambitious reform plans will depend on the condition of the Japanese economy. If "Abecnomics" brings the expected results, then he may obtain a mandate for deeper political changes. However, if the situation isn't permanently stimulated, Japan may see another "lost decade".

In the sphere of politics, Prime Minister Abe has a stronger position than most of his predecessors, however, the prospect of a constitutional reform is still as far as it was two years ago. The most far-reaching and potentially stable changes have occurred in the area of security policy. It is important to note, however, that they represent the culmination of a long process of gradual reforms carried out over the past two decades. Not without significance is the impact of the international environment, and above all, the growing assertiveness of China in the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu.

Read the whole commentary in Polish written by Rafał Wiśniewski here::