BEIJING - Exit polls conducted by major Japanese media organizations show that the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections held on Sunday.

Many around the world, especially those in the region, have seen Japan as a country at the crossroads long before the polls.

Japan, the world's third largest economy only after the United States and China, has been increasingly turning right, engaging in costly territorial disputes with neighbors even when its economy slides further into the fourth recession in the past 12 years.

The past few months have seen Japan's political and economic ties with China deteriorate sharply after Tokyo "bought" the Diaoyu Islands, an integral part of the Chinese territories, despite strong opposition from Beijing.

Japan's diplomatic troubles are far from ending here. The country are also locked horns with Russia and South Korea over territorial disputes.

With a new leadership coming in, Japan is presented with a unique opportunity to reformulate its foreign policy and change its image in the neighbors' eyes.

An economically weak and politically angry Japan will not only hurt the country, but also hurt the region and the world at large.

To build a new Japan, the incoming leadership, first of all, has to find a way to manage its differences with neighbors.

Many Japanese leaders may think Japan as an economically advanced "Western" country, but it is actually an Asian one whose fate is increasingly tied to that of other countries in the region.

Instead of pandering to domestic hawkish views and picking fights with its neighbors, the new Japanese leadership should take a more rational stand on foreign policy.

Only when the world sees a cool-headed and cooperative Japan can the country ease into the vast network of trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific, the most promising region in the 21st century.

At home, real Japanese statesmen will move to rein in nationalist sentiments.

Japan, which brought great harm and devastation to other Asian countries in the World War II, will raise further suspicions among its neighbors if the current political trend of turning right is not stopped in time.

It will be a wise move if the Japanese leaders reiterate the pacifist path adopted by the country after the Second World War and stay away from the notorious and highly controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honored WWII war criminals among the war dead.

Economically, a new Japan that can shed off decades of deflation and export innovative technology and high quality products is not only what the Japanese people are dreaming about, but also what the world needs to firmly put the lingering effects of the global financial crisis behind its back.

Politics are always emotionally charged, but a country has to rise above dangerous political rhetoric if it wants to find a better future for itself and the world at large. This applies to Japan too.

When the world sees a Japan at the crossroads, some people detect uncertainties, but others may sense new possibilities. For the new Japanese leadership, the future of the country and its relations with neighbors is in their hands.