We have a lot of weird opposing political elements.
There's the LDP, who are the good American lapdogs. They have been in power uninterrupted since WW2. They're...not popular exactly, but people are so politically apathetic that the people who bother to vote just vote for them almost out of habit. Within them you have the even more right-wing nationalists who drive around with the loudspeaker trucks (if you have been here, you know what I mean) and advocate for a remilitarized Japan.
But we have other sects that are getting more vocal too. Ryukyuu/Okinawa is increasingly upset about the American occupation of their territory; US troops cause endless problems there just like in SK. Everytime US troops pull their bullshit, more and more Japanese want to distance themselves a little bit more from the US. The public is very reticient to remilitarize, and anytime the US tries to push Japan in that direction we tend to balk.
Marxist ideas are still commonly taught in univeristies, and while we have a very large communist party, they are pretty reactionary and have taken a more anti-China stance in recent years to try to broaden their appeal. There have been more local elements, the ones I am involved with at least, that are much more pro-China and trying to push the party back in that direction.