Much of 20th Century history unfolded in the shadow of events in Europe in August 1914, when major powers in Europe launched one of the most savage wars the world had seen. August 2014 is looking very different. writes Greg Austin.

Observers in both East Asia and the United States have become increasingly worried about the growing tensions between China and Japan. However, the tendency to place all of the blame on Beijing may be mis-guided.

When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni Shrine last month, Chinese leaders, predictably, condemned his decision to honor those behind “the war of aggression against China.” But Abe was also sending a message to Japan’s main ally and defender, the US.

Shinzo Abe continues to disown the country's dark past by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine and doctoring textbooks, writes James Hsiung.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine produced a rare expression of displeasure from the US government, but the majority of US people have expressed little interest in this event, writes John Eddington.

Mr. Abe’s homage to Japan’s war dead, in the court of world public opinion, smacks of denial of his nation’s wartime aggression — and has been widely condemned. This impression only strengthens China’s hand in current disputes with Japan — and therefore also in its strategic competition with the United States, writes Sung-Yoon Lee.

Following a meeting of the world’s top leaders at the G-20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Liu Jiangyong examines Japan’s relations between China and the Republic of Korea and notes that several factors contribute to the historical departure Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s current administration has taken compared to previous administrations.

Examining recent developments in the Asia-Pacific Stephen Harner posits that the true source of instability in East Asia is a result of the post-WWII alliance between the U.S. and Japan, rather than efforts to expand Japan’s constitution and enlarge its maritime presence.

The decisive election victory of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito, gives the ruling coalition control of both houses of the Diet for the first time in six years. While the election is seen as an embrace of ‘Abenomics,’ Stephen Harner urges Abe to reform his nationalist policies.