I am not so worried about the ability of the bureaucracy to lead Japan through this current transition. I have confidence in the bureaucracy and in the corporate side of Japan. Where questions arise for Japan are more on the political side. Japan gets so far ahead of the curve on issues pertaining to technology and the economy, but it falls constantly behind the curve on matters relating to politics. With respect to East Asia, for example, Japan constantly falls behind the curve on controversial issues, such as requiring fingerprinting of resident foreigners or the enslavement of non-Japanese women during World War II for the pleasures of Japan's mighty military.
Japan is the strongest power in the region.
It was Japan that was the aggressor in the past, and so it must today make the necessary good-faith gestures to defuse the anxiety that continues to build in East Asia. Much of what is required is symbolic, but that does not mean it is not important. If Japan does not take the right initiatives, sooner or later Tokyo will have no choice but to act, but then Japan will receive no credit because it will have been forced to respond. This will create still further frustration and anxiety among Japan's neighbors and in Japan itself. It's a lose-lose situation.